


You Won't Ever Be Lonely

by LadyElizabeth



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward, City Girl Sansa, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Farm Boy Sandor, Fluff, Love, Minor Margaery Tyrell/Bronn, Modern America, New Beginnings, Romance, Rural Setting, Sandor Clegane - Freeform, Sansa Stark - Freeform, Sexting, Sexual Tension, Shy Sandor, Small town living, Smut, Starting Over, Sweetness, Watch out for flying lemons, flirty texts, sansan, slowish burn, small town, you might get a cavity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2020-06-12 20:08:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19582054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyElizabeth/pseuds/LadyElizabeth
Summary: Small towns are like metronomes. With the slightest flick, the rhythm changes. When city girl Sansa shows up in a small, rural town, farm boy Sandor finds that his simple, uncomplicated life is quickly thrown out of rhythm. And in a town where everyone knows what you're doing, even if you don't, Sandor might just come to find that what he is doing is what he has always needed.Title inspired by "You Won't Ever Be Lonely" by Andy Griggs.





	1. A Fresh Start

**Author's Note:**

> YAY for new stories! So this is another modern fic, in case you didn't read the information. When I first started reading stories on here, I avoided modern fics like the plague! But after reading a few, I was completely and hopelessly hooked. This story takes place in the tiny town of Paradise Holler, Mississippi (which is completely made up by the way). Used to big city living, Sansa meets dirty and rugged farm boy Sandor. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Happy reading! xoxoxo

Of all the places Sansa thought she would end up, she never thought it would be Paradise Holler, Mississippi. Of course, she only had herself to blame for that. When she decided she was going to leave Atlanta, she had literally closed her eyes and pointed to a spot on her United States atlas. It was the same atlas that her dad had always insisted she keep with her in the car. You know, because...fuck technology. Anywhere would be better than Atlanta. Not that she disliked Atlanta. On the contrary, she loved it. City life appealed to her because there was always somewhere to go and something to do. Yes, she would miss the nightlife. Dancing, drinks, friends, fine cuisine, and an endless charade of parties and social events. It was the people she had grown tedious of. One family in particular. The Lannisters. In a fit of rage that was very uncharacteristic of her, Sansa had left her lawyer fiancée Joffrey and his cruel, arrogant ways. Parts of her life in Atlanta would be missed, but the way Joffrey treated her would not be one of those things.

Now as she took a break from unpacking and perched herself on the porch of her new apartment that overlooked Main Street, she realized this was her new reality. She now lived in this town where everyone probably knew everyone and their brother, and being stuck behind a tractor would be considered a traffic jam. If she had a dog, right then would have been the perfect time for her to look down at it and say ' _I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...'_ The rural town of Paradise Holler was picturesque, to say the least. Just a stone's throw from the Mississippi River, the town was teeming with the most beautiful Live Oak trees that were draped in Spanish Moss. The most adorable establishments lined Main Street. Her little apartment just happened to be right above the only coffee shop in town. In the one day she had been in Paradise Holler, she had discovered the minuscule town only had five restaurants (depending on your interpretation of what a restaurant was), two grocery stores, two churches, one general store, a few bars, and one school. The school was why Sansa was there. As her luck would have it, the tiny town of Paradise Holler she had put her finger on had an opening in kindergarten at the only school in the county. She didn't question a situation that felt like fate and had wasted no time calling to apply for the position. Resumes and recommendations were emailed and she soon had a Skype interview with the school's principal, Dr. Varys. The bald headed man was impressed by Sansa's glowing resume; master's degree in early childhood education from the University of Georgia and five years of experience teaching kindergarten at a prestigious school in downtown Atlanta. _But why?_ Dr. Varys had wondered out loud towards the end of the interview. _Why leave the city life behind for our quiet little town?_ Sansa hadn't been prepared to answer that question. But the interview had gone so well, she decided she would just be as honest as she could with the kind, soft spoken man. _'I need a fresh start.'_

Although, _fresh_ wouldn't exactly be the most appropriate word she would use to describe herself at that particular moment. Humidity was something everyone in the south battled that time of the year, and having been born and raised in Georgia, Sansa was no stranger to it. The sweltering heat of the last days in July had her long red ponytail clinging to her sticky neck. Her thin tank top was stuck to her body and she could feel the sweat literally dripping off of her skin. Leaving the heavy summer air, Sansa turned to go back inside her apartment. It was tiny compared to the sprawling urban loft she had shared with Joffrey in Atlanta, probably no more than eight hundred square feet. But it would suit her needs and she loved it. Dr. Varys had given her the number of the landlord, Olenna Tyrell and she had rented it sight unseen. When Sansa had arrived, she had been delighted to find out that it was recently renovated with updated plumbing, central heating and air conditioning, and had all new appliances. Turns out, the landlord's granddaughter had previously lived there before moving in with her long time boyfriend. The day she arrived, Sansa had chatted for hours with the old woman while the movers unloaded her furniture and boxes. Sansa had learned that her granddaughter was around her age and was also a teacher at Paradise Holler Attendance Center. Moving day had been quite a spectacle in the one stoplight town and she had attracted the attention of several passerbys.

 _"Everyone just wants to meet the fascinating young red head from the big city that will be living above my coffee shop. Especially all the young men."_ Olenna had drawled in a thick southern accent. _"You're the shiny new toy everyone wants to play with."_

Playing with anyone wasn't very high on Sansa's priority list. She had come here for some much needed peace and falling in love was out of the question, no matter how charming these country boys were. Secretly, Sansa had a thing for rugged farm boys, having had a fling with one during her college years at The University of Georgia. That had been ages ago, but Sansa still could remember the feeling of his rough, work worn hands smoothing over her soft skin as he undressed her to make love in the backseat of his pickup truck. _What I wouldn't give to have hands like that on me again._ Angrily, Sansa chastised herself as she pulled her clothes from her body. _No, I am not here to fall in love_. _I am here to teach, and that's what I'll do._ After a quick shower and putting on a fresh tank top and shorts, Sansa scraped her long hair back into a high pony tail. Daylight was fading and she wanted to make a trip to the grocery store down the street before long.

Wanting to make her outing a quick one, Sansa opted to walk to the smaller grocery store two doors down rather than drive down to the end of Main Street to the Piggly Wiggly. She just wanted to grab a few things that would hold her over until she had time to make a larger grocery run. She hadn't been inside the smaller grocery store yet and had no idea what to expect. Simply named "The Market," the small storefront was all glass with the name scrawled elegantly across it with white paint. As Sansa took a deep breath before reaching for the door handle, she hoped it wasn't very busy inside. She was definitely feeling very out of her element. A small bell rang above her as she swung the creaky wooden door open and stepped inside.

_Oh shit..._

Lined up at the counter was a group of men who were idly talking amongst themselves. Clearly they were there to shoot the breeze and not buy heads of lettuce or boxes of cereal. They all turned to see who had walked in the door and eagerness quickly spread across their faces upon seeing the lovely new girl in town. If Sansa hadn't sworn off men, she would have been swooning at the sight of the rugged, good looking men clad in t-shirts, well worn jeans and baseball caps. All but one had turned around. A monstrously tall man with his hair pulled back into a knot in a ball cap with broad shoulders that filled the red plaid fabric of his button up shirt stood with his hips leaning against the counter. Hips that framed the most perfectly sculpted ass Sansa had ever seen. _Good gravy train...I bet his naked ass looks like two scoops of butter pecan ice cream..._

"Evening, ma'am." The aging clerk said politely, shaking Sansa from her daze.

Like a deer caught in headlights, all Sansa could do was stare, mouth agape. She managed an awkward hello before turning, only to crash right into a stack of hand baskets. _Oh God, get yourself together..._ After flashing a quick smile at the amused men, Sansa grabbed a basket and took off down an aisle. _Shit, shit, shit...way to go, Sansa, great way to make a first_ _impression._ Subconsciously, Sansa began hastily grabbing items off the shelves to fill her basket. As she turned a corner to make her way down the next aisle, she stopped dead in her tracks. Lazily chewing on a rawhide bone was the biggest Bloodhound Sansa had ever seen. _A dog. There's a dog. In the grocery store. Why the hell is there a dog in a grocery store?!_ Upon seeing Sansa, the dog scrambled to his feet and skidded across the slick linoleum floor towards her, his tail wagging furiously. Now being five foot seven inches in height, Sansa considered herself a decent sized woman. But this dog's shoulders were just about even with her hips. And unfortunately, that's right where the dog's nose was headed. With a loud snort, the Bloodhound buried his nose into Sansa's crotch. With a startled yelp, Sansa began to back up. _Oh COME ON! Like I need anything else to humiliate me in front of complete strangers..._

"Um...excuse me?! This dog... _ow_...a little help back here would be nice!" The relentless dog kept digging in as Sansa tried to raise a knee up to keep the dog at bay. With her flip flop clad foot, Sansa was able to push the dog away enough for her to turn where she was standing. As she whirled around, she crashed face first into something large. Something large wearing a red plaid button up shirt. "Oh shit!"

She heard a rough laugh above her, followed by a deep southern voice. "Woah, easy now. Almost made me spill my nuts."

Sansa's eyes flew up, up, up to the person that the voice belonged to. _"Excuse me?!"_

The large man laughed again and held up a styrofoam cup. "Peanuts. Boiled peanuts." For emphasis, he rattled them around in the cup.

Sheepishly, Sansa looked away. "Oh. Right." After an awkward pause, her eyes found the man's face again. One side of his face was strikingly handsome with a prominent brow and dark smoldering brown eyes hedged by thick lashes. The other side was marked with twisted scars that had erased one eyebrow and mangled what was left of his ear. His lips, _oh God, those_ _lips,_ were deliciously full and surrounded by facial hair that was trimmed close to his skin. The view of his shoulders that she had seen just moments ago didn't do them scarcely enough justice. His shirt hugged his broad, muscular shoulders perfectly and was unbuttoned just enough at the top to show the top of what Sansa assumed was a very hairy chest. Apparently, the nosy Bloodhound had not gotten a good enough sniff, because suddenly, Sansa felt his wet nose invade her space again. With a mighty shove, the dog pushed his nose against her bottom which sent her careening forward into the man. Instinctively, Sansa raised a hand to brace herself and it came down against his finely muscled chest. One of the man's hands came up and gripped her elbow to steady her.

With a small level of annoyance, the man raised his leg to shove the dog away with his boot. "Hey, go on, Moses...get outta here dog!" He said sharply, giving the dog a good push. With an unsatisfied grunt, Moses retrieved his bone and sauntered off to another aisle.

Even though the dog was gone, the man hadn't relinquished his hold on Sansa's elbow. But then again, she hadn't removed her hand from his chest either. Timidly, she raised her eyes back to his, completely unable to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. A tingle formed where his hand cradled her elbow and was beginning to quickly spread through the rest of her body. His scent was intoxicating. Cologne, or maybe just his deodorant, mixed with sweat from working outside. She curled her fingers slightly and could feel the soft chest hair right underneath the fabric of the shirt she was still resting her hand on. _Crap! Ugh...he's going to think I'm trying to fondle him or something._ Abruptly, Sansa jerked her hand back and stepped away.

"Sorry about Moses. He's harmless, just a big ol' baby. Just overly friendly with new people." The man pulled his cap down slightly lower on his face.

"Is he your dog?"

"Yep. That's my buddy."

Sansa tucked a stray hair that was tickling her neck behind her ear. "And they let you bring him in the grocery store?"

"Yeah, they don't mind. Moses goes just about everywhere with me." The man fidgeted with his cap again. Sansa wondered briefly if he was trying to throw a shadow over his scars. "So, uh...you ain't from around here, huh?"

Sansa let a small, nervous laugh escape her lips. "What gave it away?"

"Well, maybe it's because I've never seen you around before."

"So I take it you know everybody around here?"

"Well, yea. Pretty much."

A coy little smile spread on Sansa's lips. "You don't know me..." _Shit! You're not supposed to be flirting with him! Get a grip!_ Realizing how suggestive her comment sounded, Sansa's cheeks flushed red.

The big man chuckled and rattled the peanuts around in his cup as he looked at its contents. He looked slightly nervous. "No. Not yet." He extended a very large hand into the space between them. "I'm Sandor."

"Sansa Stark." She placed her hand delicately into his and allowed him to squeeze it gently in a handshake. The skin on Sandor's hand was rough and calloused. No doubt this man made a living by working with his hands. For a brief moment, Sansa allowed herself to imagine what he did with his hands to make them so rough. Her thoughts quickly drifted to images of what he could do to her with those hands. By the time Sandor's voice registered in her brain, his imaginary hands in her mind were tracing delicate circles across her shoulder blades as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"So you're the new teacher?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes! Teacher. That's me. How did you know?"

Sandor gave her a sideways grin and leaned in a little closer. "I know everyone. And people tend to gossip." With a wink, he drew himself away from her.

The color hadn't left Sansa's face and she could feel the heat slowly creeping down into her chest. She caught her bottom lip in her top teeth and adjusted the shopping basket in the crook of her arm.

A noise came from Sandor's throat. Half growl, half cough. "Well, I'll let you get back to your shopping. It was nice meetin' you." He clumsily stepped around her, then turned and took a few steps backwards, still facing her. "See ya around." He flashed a quick smile, turned and gave a whistle to his dog and left Sansa alone between the racks of breakfast cereal and coffee. Subtly, Sansa moved across the store to the window and watched as Sandor strode to a large black Dodge dually truck and lowered the tailgate. He mouthed words she couldn't hear to Moses and patted the bed of the truck. Obediently, the large dog leapt into the back of the truck and slobbered kisses over Sandor's face. He laughed and pushed the dog further into the bed so he could lift the tailgate. Licking her lips, Sansa couldn't help but be a teeny bit jealous of the dog. Sansa couldn't resist one last head cocked, mouth open, lip licking, lingering stare at Sandor's ass as he turned and walked around the truck and pulled himself up into the driver's seat. Through the window, she could hear the loud truck rumble to life. She watched until it disappeared out of sight, taking Sandor away.

When she reached the check out counter, she idly placed her items out for the clerk to ring up, lost in her thoughts about tall, dark, handsome Sandor.

"Did you find everything you were looking for, ma'am?"

"Yes. Yes, I think I did."


	2. Built For Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow y'all...I am so encouraged by the responses to this story so far! I'm really happy that y'all like it. My goal for updating is to try and post new chapters at least once a week, hopefully twice. I'm going to attempt to update every Monday and Friday... 'cause everyone needs an extra reason to be happy on Mondays, and what better way to celebrate Fridays with a new chapter?! I should be able to stick to this schedule for a few weeks, but please don't hate me if I have to change it up! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I hope the pictures are still showing up...please let me know if they aren't! Happy reading! xoxoxo

"Load up, boy." Sandor said as he slapped the tailgate of his truck with his hand. With all the grace of a water buffalo, Moses jumped into the bed. He turned around and drug his tongue across Sandor's face several times, leaving sticky slobber in his wake. Laughing, Sandor pushed his dog further back. "Come on, hound. Get offa me."

Home was just a five minute drive from the main drag in town. With Waylon Jennings blasting out the windows, Sandor made the short drive to his white farmhouse. As he turned onto his dirt driveway, he pictured the svelte young redhead he had met. Ever since Sandor had departed from the grocery store after visiting with the guys, the gorgeous woman hadn't left his mind. There was nothing about her that Sandor didn't like. He liked her hair. He liked her delicate porcelain skin. He liked her long, shapely legs. He liked...no... _loved_ those gorgeous blue eyes. Feeling slightly silly, Sandor let her name escape his lips. Just once, to see what it sounded like coming from him.

"Sansa..."

He liked the sound of her name so much, he said it again.

"Sansa."

Moses tumbled ungracefully out of the back of the truck as soon as the tailgate was down and wagged his tail, looking up at Sandor. The giant Bloodhound cocked his head to one side and looked around, trying to figure out who Sandor was talking to.

"Hello, Sansa." Chuckling at his foolishness, Sandor couldn't help himself, and continued. "Hey, Sansa. Good to see you again." With a ridiculous smile plastered across his face, he fumbled with his keyring to find his house key as he jogged up the porch steps. "So Sansa, would you like to have dinner with me sometime?" He asked the door before he slid the key into the doorknob.

"Who's Sansa?"

 _"Jesus,_ Ray!" Sandor stumbled backwards and nearly tripped over Moses. "You tryin' to give me a damn heart attack?!"

The old man laughed as he rose from the rocking chair on Sandor's front porch. "Daydreaming, are ya?"

Sandor gave him a sullen glare. "No." He unlocked the door and pushed it open. "You know, you have a key...you don't have to just sit out here and wait for me."

Ray was Sandor's business partner. One of them, anyway. Together with Bronn Blackwater who was also one of the town's sheriffs, they ran Brother and Sons Ranch. They raised some of the finest Black Angus beef cattle in the delta. Having no children of his own, Ray was sort of a surrogate father to he and Bronn both. He liked to walk to stay in shape and was apt to take an evening stroll to Sandor's house for a visit. Sandor tossed his keys and his wallet on the kitchen counter and opened the refrigerator for a beer.

"So tell me. Who is this... _Sansa?"_ Ray let out her name slowly to mock the way Sandor had been saying it earlier.

After taking a large gulp from his bottle of Coors Light, Sandor faced the older man to answer his question. "Just some woman I met in town. She's new around here."

"Ahh yes, the new school teacher from Atlanta. Olenna told me about her the other day." Ray raised his eyebrows. "Well the way you were sayin' her name...she doesn't sound like just some woman to me."

Sandor shot him a withering look.

"I heard she's very pretty."

_Pretty just isn't the right word for her. No, she's gorgeous. Beautiful. Breath taking. Stunning._

"Well I guess since she's a teacher you'll be seein' her again. When do y'all start back?"

"Tomorrow." Sandor replied as he leaned his elbows on the kitchen island and took another sip of beer. "Eight AM."

Along with his farming gig, Sandor was the head coach for the school's varsity football team, and taught a high school class or two each semester. Bronn frequently and lovingly referred to Sandor as a "jack of all trades, but master of none." A comment that always earned him a dirty look from Sandor. Students were starting back to school the next Wednesday, but faculty and staff were to report to the school to begin their inservice days tomorrow.

Ray clapped a hand on Sandor's shoulder. "Well, let's go get our list together to see which heifers we want to take to the sale Saturday evening."

Brother and Sons Ranch's prized Black Angus bull always produced good calves that were highly sought after. Part of their operation was to sell heifers that had been bred to their best bull. The beef that was produced on their farm was of very high quality and was sold at all the restaurants and grocery stores in town, and was shipped off to other locations as well. Ray followed Sandor into the office off of the foyer in his house. For the next half hour or so, they jotted down the ear tag numbers of the heifers that were ready to go to the sale.

When they were done, Ray slapped his knees with his hands and rose from his chair. "Well, I'm headin' home. Get some sleep, big boy. You gotta big day tomorrow." He winked at Sandor.

After tossing back the rest of his beer, Sandor rolled his eyes. "Right. I'm gonna go check on the calves before I head out for the school tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, son."

"Night." Sandor shut the door behind Ray and climbed the stairs to his bedroom with Moses close on his heels. He heaved a sigh as he entered the on suite master bathroom. The house he lived in had been Ray's during his married years. Almost five years ago, after he had fully renovated it, Ray had given it to Sandor, saying he didn't need all the extra space. He had insisted to Sandor that a young man such as himself needed it more than him so that he could start a family, and had hinted relentlessly about Sandor giving him grandchildren. _A family...hah!_ _Who would want to marry me? A washed up has-been with an ugly face and a bum leg?_ Oftentimes, Sandor had found himself telling Ray that the only grandchild he might ever get was Moses. Although Sandor wouldn't admit it to anyone who asked, he did want kids. A whole bunch of them. He wanted boys who he could teach how to ride horses, swing ropes, and drive a tractor. He wanted to teach them everything he knew about raising cattle and making an honest living. If playing football was something they wanted to do, he would teach them and maybe one day, coach them. Girls were another story. He wasn't sure if he could handle a girl. Especially when they got old enough to date. But if he was ever fortunate enough to be blessed with a daughter, he would want to show her how a boy was supposed to treat her. Maybe he would even be one of those fathers who was cleaning his shotgun on the porch when a boy came to call on his little girl.

Once he had redone the house which was now Sandor's, Ray had promptly moved into the much smaller house elsewhere on his eight hundred acre farm. He now lived in the house he had rented to Sandor when he first came to Paradise Holler. The only problem with this nice big house that Sandor now lived in was the fact that everything in the master suite was built for two. The master bedroom had matching his and hers nightstands on either side of the king size bed. The master bathroom had his and hers sinks. There were huge walk-in, his and hers closets on either side of the bathroom, one of which was full of nothing but Sandor's hunting gear. His house was built for two, but he had no _her_ to share it with.

Sandor hadn't had a real girlfriend since college. Even then, he had a feeling she had only been dating him because of his position on the football team. His brief two years of playing professional football hadn't yielded any girlfriends or wives either. Plenty of women that wanted to hook up with him, though. It had been that way since high school. After he had lost his virginity at sixteen after a home football game one Friday night, Sandor had gained a reputation. Girls had gossiped about the enormous guy with a dick to match, and he was never without a girl to satisfy him. Satisfy him sexually, anyway. Deep down, Sandor had never wanted to be just a girl's booty call. But whenever he tried to put romantic moves of any sort on the girls who wanted to sleep with him, they would make up some lame excuse, usually saying that they weren't ready for a relationship, or that the timing was off. But then he would see those same girls not three days later with a steady boyfriend. That had hurt.

He was lonely, and tired of being single. It had been three years since he had been with a woman. The last woman he tried to start a relationship with, a cute blonde from the next town over, seemed interested at first, and Sandor had proceeded with caution. But after taking her out several times, and sleeping with her more than once or twice, she had told him that she wasn't looking for anything serious...but she would keep his number in case she ever got lonely. Sandor had never answered her late night phone calls and texts. Without anyone to warm his bed at night, except Moses, Sandor had to be content with beating himself off while watching Porn Hub videos. It was getting really old.

Visions of Sansa once again flooded his mind as he stepped into his large shower and let the scalding water wash over his body. Remembering the way she had blushed and bitten her lip while looking at him was enough to make his dick twitch against his thigh. As Sandor squeezed soap onto his shower loofa, he thought about her full, perfectly shaped pink lips, and dared himself to wonder what they would feel like against his. _If she was close enough to kiss me, she would probably be close enough for her tits to press against me, too._ _Shit! Those tits..._ Sandor groaned and let his hand travel down his stomach to his cock, which was now standing out away from his body at full attention. Sandor hated thinking of beautiful, perfect Sansa, who he didn't even know, in such a dirty way. But he couldn't help himself. He began stroking his long, thick shaft as he imagined what her nipples looked like. The strappy little tank top she had been wearing showed off just a hint of cleavage. Just enough to make his imagination go wild. Her perfect tits, slim waist, curvy hips, ass that could stop traffic...all flashed through his mind. Prompted by his thoughts, Sandor pumped his length faster and harder. In the grocery store, Sandor had turned around just in time after Sansa had run into the stack of baskets to see her perky, round ass disappear down an aisle. The sort of ass that he wanted to grab handfuls of as he pulled her in for a steamy kiss. That thought was enough to send him over the edge. With his other hand propped up on the shower wall, Sandor let out a gasping moan as he watched his dick spasm in his hand, sending spurts of his cum swirling down the shower drain. Pulling himself upright, Sandor twisted the shower faucet to cold. His heated body needed a shock to get himself under control.

With a loud groan, Sandor collapsed onto his bed and willed his mind to think about something besides Sansa. When that didn't work, he reached for his phone he had plugged in next to his nightstand and opened his Facebook app. He didn't use his Facebook very much, but he figured he would see if Sansa had one. To his delight, she did. His delight faded when he found that her profile was completely private. All he had access to were her profile pictures. The picture she had selected to be shown was a candid one. She wasn't looking at the camera, but was instead laughing at something off to the side. Wind was tossing her copper hair around her face and she was holding one hand up to brush it away. For a brief second, his thumb hovered over the "add friend" button. He hesitated. _No, I better not. She's going to think I'm some sort of psycho stalker._ He closed the app and tossed his phone on his nightstand after setting his alarm. As Sandor had done for years, he drifted off to sleep to nothing but the sound of Moses' loud snoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor lonely Sandor :(


	3. Passing Notes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! Or if you are in a different time zone and it is not Friday...happy whatever day it is where you are! I am loving the response to this story so far! Thank you so much for all of the comments, kudos and subscriptions. It makes me so happy that y’all like the story. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sansa makes a new friend and encounters an...acquaintance...again in a most unusual circumstance. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Happy reading! xoxoxo

The next morning, Sansa was ready to go with time to spare. Even though she didn't have to be at the school until eight, she had gotten up at five thirty. Being overly excited to start her new job in a new school, she had barely slept. When she finally did succumb to sleep, her dreams were plagued with visions of Sandor. The rational side of her brain reminded her that she had sworn off men, and insisted that she forget about the tall, handsome man with the scarred face. The other side screamed at her to find out more about him. Something told her it was only a matter of time before she saw him once more. It was a small town, after all, so their paths were bound to cross again.

After showering and drying her hair, she set it in rollers to add some extra volume and went about choosing her outfit. Wanting make a good impression for the back to school meeting, Sansa chose a crisp, white button up shirt with three quarter sleeves, a black pencil skirt, and her black Christian Louboutin pumps. She packed a spare change of clothes into a bag for later when she would begin the arduous task of setting up her classroom. She still wasn't due to be at the school for another half hour, so Sansa carefully descended the stairs on the side of her building and entered the coffee shop. Olenna was propped up behind the counter talking to a pretty brunette who looked to be about Sansa's age.

"Good mornin' Sansa! How are you liking the apartment so far?" Olenna asked as Sansa approached the counter.

"Good morning, Ms. Olenna! I love it. Couldn't ask for better."

Olenna gestured to the young woman sitting on a barstool opposite of her. "Sansa, this is my granddaughter, Margaery."

Margaery extended her hand out to Sansa. "Oh it's so great to finally meet you! Granny's told me so much about you!"

Sansa smiled appreciatively at Margaery. "So you're a teacher too, right?"

"First grade! You and I will be on the same hallway. Have you met the other kindergarten teacher yet?"

Before answering Margaery's question, Sansa addressed Olenna. Her go-to drink in the morning was usually coffee, but nerves were beginning to set in of the reality of a brand new job. "May I have a green tea with honey, please?" Turning back to Margaery, she answered, "No, I haven't met anyone yet. No one was up there when the movers unloaded my stuff yesterday outside of my classroom."

Margaery sipped from her cup. "Well the other kindergarten teacher is Podrick Payne. We call him Pod. He's absolutely precious and really, really sweet. You'll love him."

Handing Sansa her tea, Olenna interrupted. "Pod would be a good guy to set Sansa up with, don't you think?" Sansa laughed at the thought and waved her hand at the old woman. If there was one thing she knew about small town southern women, it was that they were always trying to set people up.

With a hearty laugh, Margaery threw her head back. "Granny, he's still too caught up chasing Ros around! Besides, they're going to be working together. That'd be too much time with each other."

For a brief moment, Sansa considered asking the women about Sandor. All night, and all morning for that matter, she had wondered endlessly about him and felt an unusual desire to get to know him. Surely they would know him and could satisfy her lingering curiosity. However, she quickly decided against it.

Margaery checked the time on her phone. "Well, we should probably get going." She leaned across the counter and kissed Olenna on the cheek. "Love you, Granny." After grabbing her cup, Margaery turned to Sansa. "You wanna ride with me?"

Smiling at her new friend, Sansa happily replied, "Sure, that'd be great!"

Outside in the bright morning sunshine, Margaery opened the door to an older model beat up, light blue truck that was parked in front of the coffee shop. "Sorry about my wheels. My car is in the shop getting new brake pads and I borrowed my boyfriend, Bronn's truck."

"What's your boyfriend driving?" Sansa asked as she slid across the bench seat.

"Oh he's got another nicer truck. This is just his kick-around truck."

"Kick-around?" Sansa echoed.

"It's just his old farm truck that he uses when he doesn't want to mess up his nice truck when he's hauling stuff around on the farm." She angrily punched the clutch and turned the key until the engine roared to life. "Trust me, this one here is a piece of shit. you might want to roll your window down, it has no air," she added with a roll of her eyes.

Sansa laughed at her comment. "So what does your boyfriend do?"

"He's a sheriff in town. One of three. He also works on a cattle farm around here with another guy." With a wide smile, Margaery turned to Sansa. "Hey, you know what? We should all go out for drinks tomorrow night! Bronn has a few single guy friends we could introduce you to. His buddy that he works with on the farm... I think you'd really like him. He's an old grump, but very sweet. You'll probably meet him today, he's also the head football coach. Coach Clegane."

Sansa brushed some hair away from her face that the wind had caught. The thought of dating again was tedious, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to make friends in her new town. A tiny part of her didn't want to meet this coach that Margaery thought she would like so much. If she was going to be _set up_ with anyone, she wanted it to be the man from the grocery store. "Ehhh...I don't know if I'm ready to jump back into the dating game, just yet. But drinks sounds like a good idea! I'm in."

Margaery beamed at Sansa. The school was right across the street from the coffee shop, but the entrance was at the very end of Main Street. It took all of about five minutes to get into the school parking lot. Margaery parked the truck among the other vehicles and cursed under her breath when the gearshift refused to go into park. Once inside the brick office building, Sansa met the school secretary, who issued Sansa her classroom key, and then Dr. Varys.

The bald man reached out to shake Sansa's hand. "My dear, it is so nice to finally meet you in person. How are you settling in so far?" His smooth, southern voice sounded like something straight out of _Gone With the Wind._

"It's very nice to meet you too, Dr. Varys. Everything is going very well!"

"I am so happy to hear that, Ms. Stark. Now you let me know if there's anything you need." After he gathering a few items from his desk, Dr. Varys stepped around it to stand in front of it. "Well ladies, I will see you in the cafeteria in just a little while."

The entire kindergarten through twelfth grade faculty and staff were scheduled to meet in the school's cafeteria for a welcome back meeting. Sansa took a seat beside Margaery on a stool at one of the long lunch room tables.

"So...Sansa. Tell me about you. I want to know _everything."_

Grinning sheepishly, Sansa gave Margaery a brief overview of her life and how she had wound up in Paradise Holler.

"Well he sounds like a real prick." Margaery commented upon hearing Sansa's description of her ex fiancé.

A young man with a pleasant, round face and a broad smile lowered himself onto a stool across from Sansa and Margaery.

"Oh Pod!" Margaery exclaimed as she put her hand on Sansa's arm. "This is Sansa Stark! She's the new kindergarten teacher!"

Pod's goofy smile widened as he shook Sansa's hand. "Oh...hey you!"

 _Does this man know me?_ Sansa narrowed her eyes trying to place him with no luck. "Have we met?"

Looking rather sheepish, Pod chuckled and revealed himself. "Well, no. But I did see you attack that stack of hand baskets with an impressive amount of force in The Market yesterday..."

 _"Oh God._..you were one of those guys at the counter?!"

"Guilty as charged."

Sansa couldn't keep the incredulous smile from her lips as hid her face with one hand. With a groan, she let her hand fall away from her face and laughed along with Pod.

"No worries, Sansa. It seemed like something that I would do."

Margaery rose slightly and craned her neck to get a better look at the faces around the room. "Well shoot...I don't see Coach Clegane, yet. I was really hoping to introduce you to him before our meeting started."

"He probably had to go check cows before comin' up here. Ray said the other day they were havin' some trouble with some steers runnin' through the north fence." Pod commented. Margaery clicked her tongue and lowered herself back onto her stool.

Before any more small talk could be made, Dr. Varys stepped up behind a podium to address the crowd. "Well y'all, it looks like we're still missing one or two, but we're going to go ahead and get started. We've got a lot of information to cover, but I'll try to make it brief 'cause I know y'all want to get back to work in your classrooms."

Sansa listened intently as Dr. Varys spoke about the basic school procedures that always had to be discussed at the beginning of each school year. She ascertained that there were two assistant principals at the school. An older man with a short gray beard, Mr. Seaworth was the assistant principal for grades seven through twelve. The assistant principal for the lower grades of kindergarten through sixth was a slim middle aged man named Mr. Baelish. He immediately gave Sansa the creeps from the way he stared intently at her across the room. To take her mind off of the man whose eyes were blatantly glued to her, Sansa diligently took notes in the binder that she bad brought with her. A door opened somewhere behind Sansa, but she was focusing on jotting down notes, so she didn't look up. About ten seconds later, she felt the table move slightly as someone sat down just two stools away from her. Out of her peripheral vision, Sansa glanced at her new neighbor. Long, blue jean covered legs were folded sharply under the table. Sansa did a noticeable double-take when she let her eyes drift to the person's face. Sandor, the man she had met in the grocery store was sitting right next to her. He had on a light blue button up shirt, and a faded baseball cap. There were a few streaks of mud on his well broken-in jeans and on his square toed cowboy boots as well. All Sansa could do was stare stupidly at him. He tossed a leather bound notebook down in front of him, raised his eyebrow at Sansa, and gave her a wide grin, exposing his straight, white teeth.

"What are you doing here?" Sansa whispered anxiously.

Sandor shushed her with a finger over his lips and then pointed the finger at the front of the room, playfully insinuating that he was trying to hear what Dr. Varys was saying. In reality, Sandor didn't give a damn about the back to school meeting. It was always the same shit every year. He just couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease Sansa. With a smirk, Sansa narrowed her eyes at Sandor and turned back to face the front of the room.

When Sansa's hair moved across her shoulders as she turned, Sandor got a magnificent whiff of what he assumed was her shampoo or maybe her perfume. Whatever it was, it was divine. She smelled just like fresh lavender. Her feminine scent was enough to make his dick begin to swell in his jeans. Squirming uncomfortably on the stool, he pressed his thighs together, willing it to deflate. Sandor flipped open his notebook and tore a piece of yellow notebook paper from legal pad that was tucked inside. After uncapping his pen and writing one word on the top line, he slid the paper to where Sansa sat. Before pulling his hand back to himself, he poked Sansa in the elbow and pointed to the paper.

Once she felt Sandor poke her, she jerked her head towards him and saw him tapping the paper he had slid in front of her. She blushed and bit at her smiling lips as her eyes rotated between Sandor's face and the paper to see what he had written.

**Hello.**

_So we're passing notes, now. What are we, twelve?_ Sansa humored him and wrote him back on the next line down.

Hello again.

Without looking at him, Sansa slid the paper back to Sandor. A minute later, the yellow paper entered her line of sight.

**Surprised to see me again so soon?**

Surprised was an understatement. She never thought that the rugged man with the nosy Bloodhound would be sitting next to her in a school faculty meeting. Sansa wrote her response and pushed the paper towards him.

A little. Are you a teacher here?

The paper was slid back and forth between them for the next several minutes. After a few exchanges, Pod noticed and gestured to Margaery, who peeked around Sansa and giggled at the sight.

**Yeah, I teach a few math classes at the high school every year. I'm also the varsity football coach.**

_Ahhh...so this is the man Margaery was telling me about on the way over here. What did she call him again, Coach Clegane?_ Sansa smirked at the thought and wrote more on the paper.

What do you teach?

**Twelfth grade calculus mostly.**

Wow for real?!

**Nah for fake. I actually just teach underwater basket weaving. Yes...calculus.**

Impressive.

**What grade will you be teaching?**

Kindergarten.

**Now that's impressive to me. I can't deal with the babies.**

So we're passing notes? I thought you wanted to pay attention.

**I already know all this stuff. What I don't know is much about you.**

Well what do you want to know?

**Everything.**

Reading Sandor's words sent a surge of happiness through Sansa's body. The feeling settled in her stomach with a warmth that made her giddy.

Hate to break it to you, but I'm not that interesting.

Sandor was feeling a little bold, or maybe just foolish, but without thinking, he wrote her a question.

**You let me be the judge of that. So did you move here with your boyfriend?**

No.

**Husband?**

No.

**Girlfriend?**

NO.

**Haha well you never know!**

What about you...girlfriend?

**Nope.**

Wife?

**Definitely nope.**

Boyfriend?

**Absolutely not.**

Hiding laughter behind her hand, Sansa kept writing.

So it's just you and Moses?

**That's right. And about 800 cows.**

Where is Moses anyway? I thought you said he went with you everywhere.

**I left him in my classroom. He's probably asleep by now.**

You bring him to school with you?!

**Well yea! Being varsity football coach has its advantages. I can't leave my buddy behind, he's my wingman. He's pretty good at sniffing them out...but you already knew that.**

Sansa had to stifle another giggle as she remembered the way Sandor's dog had forcefully sniffed her nether region.

Wingman, huh? Never heard of a wingdog.

**He helped me meet you didn't he?**

Sansa's breath caught slightly in her throat as she read what he had just written. This note passing session was quickly turning flirty. But Sansa found that she couldn't rein herself in.

I guess he did. If he's your wingman, how come you're so...single?

**Haven't met the right woman yet I guess. How come you are you so single?**

Same reason. Haven't met anyone worth dating.

**What kind of man would be worth dating?**

_Ok, this is definitely flirting!_ Sansa worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she forced her brain work.

A gentleman.

Sandor looked down at what Sansa had written once she slid the paper back to him. _A gentleman, huh? Shit...think, Clegane, think!_ Sandor had been out of the dating for game so long, his flirting skills were more than a bit rusty. There were no mathematical equations for winning a woman's heart. It was all feelings and emotions. Something Sandor couldn't learn from college or the professional development conferences he was sometimes sent to. But he knew he had to think of something that would get her attention.

**I could be a gentleman...**

Held in a slightly trembling hand, Sansa's pen lingered over the paper as she tried to think of something clever to write back. Suddenly, Dr. Varys' voice registered in her ears.

"Ok y'all, that's it for this morning. The rest of the day may be spent getting your classrooms organized. Lunch may be taken at your leisure. Most of you will have textbook training and curriculum mapping meetings either tomorrow or Monday, so please read your schedules that I have emailed you very carefully. I need to meet with the athletic coaches for a few minutes. Everyone else is dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your day!"

Before Sandor had a chance to, Sansa snatched up the paper from the table and tucked it between her binder and her chest. She rose from her seat. Sandor rose as well to make his way to the front of the room to meet with Varys and the other coaches. Before he stepped away, he reached a large hand out and gently squeezed Sansa's. Realizing what he was doing, Sansa expelled a small gasp from her lips and looked down at where their hands were connected. He dropped her hand after a second and gave her a wink before stepping around her. Margaery rushed after her out the door as they headed for the kindergarten and first grade building.

"Ok...what the hell was _that?!"_

Scoffing, Sansa tried her best to act nonchalant. "What do you mean?"

"Sandor just held your hand. Y'all were writing notes to each other during the whole meeting like two sixth graders! What's going on?!" With quick fingers, Margaery snatched the yellow paper from Sansa. Excitement flooded her face as her eyes skimmed over the words. "Oh my God, 'hello _again?!'_ You've already met him?!"

With a smile she could not hide, Sansa sighed. "Yes...I met him at The Market yesterday. His dog all but gave me a rim job right in the middle of the cereal aisle." Sansa used her new key to unlock her classroom door and tossed her stuff onto her desk. Margaery's attention was back on the note.

"Good heavens, Sansa! Askin' each other if you are single, Sandor saying he could be a gentleman for you...y'all have some major flirtin' goin on here!" Margaery squealed a little louder than necessary.

Exasperated, but unable to hide her own giddiness, Sansa snatched at the paper. Margaery giggled and pulled it away. "You _like_ him, don't you?!"

"Come on, let me have the paper."

Margaery dangled it just out of her reach. "I'll give you the paper back _only_ if you admit that you like him."

"I don't even know him!"

"But you know enough to know whether you like him or not..."

Sansa rolled her eyes. There was no denying that Margaery had a point. "Ok _fine.._.I guess I _do_ like him a little. He seems interesting enough. He must be super smart if he teaches calculus."

Margaery set the paper on Sansa's desk and pulled a chair up next to it. "Girl, Sandor is _crazy smart!_ He majored in mathematics at The University of Mississippi where he played football. He grew up not too far from Oxford, where the college is."

By now, Sansa had propped her chin in her hand to listen. Margaery seemed to know all about this man that was friends with her boyfriend, and Sansa was all too willing to listen to everything she had to say about him.

"He was drafted by the NFL right out of college and played for the New Orleans Saints for two years. _Shit,_ he was so good."

"So what happened, how did he wind up here?"

Encouraged by Sansa's persistence, Margaery smiled and continued. "Well, he took a pretty brutal hit during a game. Snapped his leg clean, right at the knee. Never played again."

Sansa winced and sucked in a breath of air with her eyes squeezed shut.

"If you watch him real careful, he still walks with a bit of a limp some days. He spent a year in physical therapy in New Orleans, but then decided that he wanted to move back to Mississippi. But he needed a job since he couldn't play football anymore. Our old football coach who had been here for years had just retired, so Sandor applied for the job. Of course, he didn't have his teaching license, but since he was the most qualified man for the job, they gave it to him. Teachers aren't exactly in abundance out here, in case you haven't noticed. Since we had just lost our calculus teacher, Sandor was able to teach under an emergency certificate since he had a degree in mathematics. He spent two years taking online classes to get his teaching license. When he moved here about eight years ago, he met Ray Brothers and Bronn and the three of them run the cattle farm I told you about."

Taking it all in, Sansa pulled in a deep breath of air. Sandor was definitely a very interesting man, no doubt. "Wow."

"Sandor's a _real_ sweet guy, Sansa. He's simple, hardworking and honest as they come. He's just a little awkward and shy when it comes to dating. I'm sure you can imagine why he doesn't have very much luck with the ladies. Although I don't see why, I think he's cute as a button! Scars and all."

Completely lost in a Sandor-induced daydream, all Sansa could do was hum an agreement. After a few more minutes of chatting, Margaery left to work on setting up her own classroom. Not wanting to unpack her classroom supplies in her stilettos, Sansa changed into the t-shirt, shorts and flip flops she had packed in her bag. The rest of Sansa's morning was spent unpacking boxes and visiting with Pod. She wanted to know everything about the way he ran his classroom and peppered him with questions. As it turned out, his teaching style was very similar to her own, and Sansa was really looking forward to working with him. In an attempt to take her mind off of Sandor, Sansa unpacked the books she kept for her classroom library and began sorting them by reading levels. The process was slow-going, because of course, all Sansa could do was think about Sandor. Never in her life had she been so infatuated with a man that she had just met. It was extremely frustrating, and a bit scary that she found herself desiring a man just when she had decided that being alone was exactly what she needed in her life at that point in time. It almost felt like she was going against her intuition and betraying her own wishes. _Damn, why does he have to be so nice and handsome? This would all be so much easier if he turned out to be some sort of asshole. Maybe he will have some sort of weird fetish that would be a deal breaker for me._ The thoughts that were flitting through her mind were ridiculous. So far, there had been no red flags or anything of the sort that told her to stay away from Sandor. It was just a relationship she felt like she needed to stay away from. But since they had just met, Sansa hoped that she would have some time to sort her feelings out before anything actually happened.

At about 12:00, Margaery and Pod strolled into Sansa's room. "We're going to go get some lunch. Wanna come?"

"Yea, sure!" Sansa grabbed her purse and followed them to the parking lot.

As they slid onto the bench seat of Margaery's borrowed truck, Pod explained the food choices around Paradise Holler. "Well, there's the Delta Steakhouse..."

Margaery scrunched her nose. "I don't want to eat something too heavy for lunch."

"Ok, The Dairy Bar has good burgers, wraps, chicken fingers, things like that. Or we could go to Bob's-"

Bewildered, Sansa cut him off. "The gas station?"

"Yeah, they've got the best burgers in town. Fried chicken, all kinds of sides. But if you sit inside, you'll come out smelling like cooking grease."

"What about Pig Pit?" Margaery suggested. "It's a barbecue joint, Sansa. It's really good."

The Pig Pit was a small building that resembled a shack on the outside. Inside there was a wooden floor and wood paneled walls covered with pictures of the local people and their accomplishments. One picture had a smiling man holding up the biggest catfish Sansa had ever seen. Proud athletic teams that were crowded around winning trophies adorned the walls as well. There were also several pictures of kids with livestock sporting ribbons they had won at local 4H and FFA shows. Being lunch time, the restaurant was crowded, and they pulled up a chair and crammed themselves into a two person table. After perusing the menu, Sansa looked up at the wall next to her. A huge picture of a large man in a black and gold football uniform monopolized the frame.

"Is that Sandor?"

Margaery and Pod raised their heads to follow Sansa's gaze. "Yep, that's him!" Margaery replied. "Our own little celebrity."

 _Little_ certainty wasn't the word Sansa would use to describe Sandor. She was tall, but Sandor had towered almost a foot above her. He had to be right at or just over six and a half feet.

"Oh, speak of the devil..." Pod commented as he glaced out the window. Sansa's eyes flew to the front door just in time to see Sandor saunter in. He had unbuttoned his shirt and let it hang open, showing a tight white tank top underneath. He maneuvered his way through the crowd, greeting several people who spoke to him as he went.

"Sandor!" Margaery called with a wave.

Sandor glanced their way and tipped his chin up at them before leaning on the counter. "Hey, Dorothy. Can I have my usual to go, please?"

As Sandor turned to make his way to their table, Sansa could feel her pulse quicken with anticipation. She could feel his eyes on her and it only added to her nervousness.

"Hellooo!" Margaery sang to him as he came to a stop right next to Sansa's chair.

"Hey Margaery. Pod. _Sansa..._ _"_ He finished with a smirk and a wink that sent what felt like a lightening bolt straight to Sansa's stomach.

Margaery poked her lower lip out into a pout. "Well we'd pull a chair up for you, but I don't think we have enough room."

Sandor waved his hand to dismiss her comment. "Nah, that's ok. I'm gettin' my lunch to go. I've got to meet with Seaworth to get a schedule put together for football practice for the next two weeks."

Sandor's body was angled slightly towards Sansa and she couldn't help but notice that his crotch was pretty much eye level with her face. Instead of studying the slight bulge she noticed behind his zipper, she examined the tarnished silver belt buckle on his belt. It was large and round and had a beautiful filigree background with golden embossed letters. A large finger tilted her chin up.

"Yoo-hoo...my eyes are up here, doll." Another wink from Sandor sent another lightening bolt straight to Sansa's gut. Blushing furiously, she struggled for a comeback.

"I...um...I was just trying to...see what your belt buckle said." She averted her eyes, but then let them flicker back up to his. He was smiling a most amused sideways smile down at her.

Sandor looked down and tilted the buckle up towards him. "It says... '2009 Muddy River Classic Calf Roping Champion.' The last buckle I won before my leg got destroyed."

"Sandor used to rodeo." Margaery explained to Sansa with a raise of her eyebrows.

Dorothy's voice rang out above the noise in the room. "Coach, your order's ready!"

Before Sandor could walk away, Margaery grabbed his wrist. "Oh hey, Sandor...I had thought maybe we could all get together tomorrow night and take Sansa out for drinks. Show her what little nightlife our town has to offer. I was thinking maybe...The Rivershack?"

Inside, Sansa found herself desperately screaming _please say yes, please say yes, please say yes!_

"Well sure. Why not?" With his eyes trained on Sansa, Sandor added, "how can I say no?"

Sansa's tongue refused to work, so all she did was beam a smile up at him as her heart thumped violently in her chest.

Sandor cleared his throat and awkwardly shifted his weight from one leg to another. "Well I better head back to the school. Guess I'll see y'all later."

After saying goodbye, Sansa shamelessly watched him walk away. She was overwhelmed with the urge to reach out and caress the brown Wrangler patch on the back pocket of his jeans. Her blatant staring did not go unnoticed by Margaery.

"You are _sooo_ into him!"

Shaking herself from her staring, Sansa turned her gaze to Margaery. "I am not."

"Well he seems like he's into you..."

Sansa couldn't hide her surprise after Margaery's comment. The words she spoke betrayed her desperate attempts to seem indifferent. " _Really?_ You think so?"

With a smug, satisfied look, Margaery sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Like I said. You are so into him."

Sansa glanced at Pod for help. All he did was wink at her. _"Busted..."_


	4. Front Porch Sittin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok here's the next chapter! I hope y'all enjoy it, please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Happy reading! xoxoxo

Around 5:30 that evening, Sandor finally made it back to his own classroom. He and Beric Dondarrion, who served as his assistant coach, along with Davos Seaworth and Tormund Giantsbane, who were the coaches for the junior varsity football team, had spent hours finalizing the roster, practice schedules and other details pertaining to the school's football teams. He was tired and grumpy, and really wanted a drink. But he knew he had to at least get _some_ stuff in his classroom unpacked and organized. Moses followed him into the room and immediately collapsed onto his large dog bed Sandor kept in the corner behind his wooden desk.

As he leaned on the edge of his desk, he surveyed the damage the summer cleaning crew had done. The student desks were stacked haphazardly in the corner. The shelves on the back wall of his classroom held all the boxes he had stored his supplies in over the summer. Posters with differential equations and other formulas useful for a calculus student lined the front wall above his whiteboard and interactive smartboard. His favorite poster was among them, front and center. A student had given it to him a few years back. It was a picture of a frowning, grumpy looking cat in front of a green chalkboard. The big, white words in all capital letters across the top and bottom of the poster read 'I LOVE MATH. IT MAKES PEOPLE CRY.' Sandor had laughed out loud along with his students when the teenage kid had presented it to him on the last day of school. The memory drew a chuckle from Sandor as he began to pull the student desks to the middle of the room to form neat rows. Once he had his desks arranged the way he liked them and had unpacked a few boxes, Sandor decided to call it a night. Moses followed him down the hallway out into the parking lot. The daylight was fading and most of the teachers had gone home for the night. Sandor noticed one light was still on in the kindergarten and first grade building. Something moving inside the classroom caught his eye. Long legs were perched on a stool just on the other side of the glass. Driven by something Sandor couldn't quite put his finger on, he changed his direction and headed for the building to the classroom he knew Sansa was in instead of his truck. An old Simon and Garfunkel song drifted into the hallway as he opened the door and stepped inside.

To alert his presence, Sandor rapped his knuckles on the open classroom door. From the stool where she had been hanging her beige ruffled curtains, Sansa turned. "Oh, hey!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "I thought everyone else had gone home." She stepped off the stool to greet Moses, who had approached her excitedly. "Hey there, Moses!" The dog rolled over on his back and accepted all the scratches and pats she was willing to give him. _Lucky damn dog. We've both known her the same amount of time and he's already touched her twice as much as I've gotten to_. Sandor had never been jealous of his dog before. As she squatted on the floor, the hem of her blue shorts rose dangerously high, showing off more of her beautiful pale skin. The sight sparked his interest even higher than it already was. Not wanting to have a raging boner in front of the woman he had been obsessing over for the past twenty four hours, Sandor quickly averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Uh, yea. I'm just leaving. You all by yourself up here?"

"Yes, Margaery and Pod left not too long ago. Margaery offered me a ride, but I figured I would just walk. I wanted to get as much done as I could tonight." Sansa pushed herself up from her kneeling position on the floor. Her hair that had been loose earlier was now pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. More of her long graceful neck was on display. There was nothing more Sandor wanted than to find out what the skin there tasted like. Sansa folded the stool and crossed the room to her desk. She tapped a button on her phone to stop her music and glanced up at Sandor. "What are you doing here to late?"

"Took longer than I thought to get stuff settled with the other coaches. Then I had to do some arranging in my room. Can't leave it all 'til the last minute." Sandor lowered himself onto a table next to the row of cubbies along the wall. _She's by herself up here with no way home except to walk. Offer her a ride, you moron._ The ride to her apartment over the coffee shop was only about five minutes. Quickly, Sandor scrambled for a plan to spend more than just a few minutes with her. "Hey, would you umm...do you want to maybe...go have a cup of coffee with me?" Once the words had left his mouth, he immediately squeezed his eyes shut, not believing what he had just said.

Startled by his offer, Sansa looked up from a stack of books she had been idly going through. As a rule, Sansa never drank coffee after six PM. But Sandor, the man she hadn't been able to stop thinking about was offering to take her out for coffee. She didn't know if she should politely decline, or take him up on his offer. Sandor couldn't help but notice how nervous she looked as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

 _Shit, shit, shit..._ "Or you know...if you don't want to, I can just give you a ride home."

Sansa shook her head. "No, no...coffee would be great. Thank you."

Mouth agape, Sandor couldn't believe what he had just heard. It had been years since he had successfully asked a woman out. Even if it was just for coffee, he felt like he had just won the lottery.

"Ok then. After you." Sandor pushed himself away from the table and stood by the door while Sansa gathered her things. They walked to his truck in a comfortable silence. In a few well placed, hurried steps, Sandor beat Sansa to the passenger door and opened it for her and held his hand out to help her in.

For a second, Sansa stood there, staring at his hand. "Thank you," she finally whispered as she took his hand and climbed up to the seat. What should have been an innocent act of chivalry was quickly sending a burning sensation up Sandor's arm and straight to his chest. Once she was secure in the truck, Sandor abruptly pulled his hand away. As he walked to the back of the truck to load Moses up, Sandor jerked his head to the left and then the right, cracking the bones to relieve some tension.

While Sandor was getting Moses in the back of his truck, Sansa sat in the passenger seat, anticipating how the night would unfold. As she looked down at her old t-shirt and running shorts, she couldn't help but wish she looked a little more presentable. The sensation that she had felt when she gripped Sandor's hand had spread through her body like wildfire. With her blue eyes fixed on the brick wall she saw through the windshield, she dared herself to think about how her body would feel should he ever touch other places with those hands. Hands that were vastly different from those of her ex fiancé's. Joffrey's hands had been smooth and cold. With thin fingers that would fondle her at the most inappropriate times, and then only got more persistent once they were alone. Sansa had come to hate his hands and what they did to her behind closed doors.

The driver's side door opened and Sandor grabbed the steering wheel to pull himself up.

"I really like your truck." Sansa commented as she rubbed her hand along the smooth leather of the seat she sat in. The men she had kept company with in Atlanta, even before she had met Joffrey had driven ridiculously expensive, luxuriously ostentatious cars. Before Joffrey and his ridiculous, over the top Lamborghini, men who drove Maseratis, Audis or Jaguars had asked Sansa for dates. Men who only wanted to 'one-up' each other when it came to showing off their money, and did so with their cars. Sandor's truck seemed very fitting for a man like him. It was practical for life on a farm, sturdy, and big. Like him. _And sexy..._

"Thanks." Sandor mumbled as he turned his key in the ignition. "I bet it's a far cry from what you're used to."

Suddenly worried that Sandor had somehow been able to read her mind, she panicked and blurted out, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Twisting his torso to look behind him as he backed out of his parking spot, Sandor laughed. "You're from downtown Atlanta. Land of Mercedes' and BMWs. Or so I've been told." He turned to her and winked. "Is that what you've got?"

Sansa had to admit, he wasn't too far off the mark. Joffrey had supplied her with a brand new Audi A3 Cabriolet while she was with him. A car that she was all too willing to leave behind once she told him she was leaving. Before making her way to her new home, she had spent some of her hard earned savings to purchase the black sedan with almost two hundred thousand miles on it that had gotten her to Mississippi.

 _"Actually,_ I have a Honda Civic. I can assure you, it's painfully plain."

 _"Painfully plain."_ Sandor echoed as he looked at her. "I can assure you there is nothin' _plain_ about you."

With a bashful smile, Sansa turned her gaze out the window. His sexy, low southern drawl was definitely something she could get used to. Instead of turning right to take her back to the only coffee shop Sansa knew of in town, Sandor was turning left, away from the buildings on Main Street. "Wait a minute, I thought we were going to get coffee. The coffee shop is that way." For emphasis, she gestured her hand back towards the town they were leaving behind.

"We _are_ going to get coffee. The place I have in mind is better."

"Well then where are we going?"

With a scheming smile, Sandor simply said, "You'll see."

It didn't take them but a few minutes to reach their destination. After the short drive, Sandor was pulling into a dirt driveway. At the end of the driveway was a large, beautiful white farmhouse with a quaint wrap around porch. It looked to Sansa the kind of house she might see in the pages of a _Southern Living_ magazine. She fell in love instantly. "Wow, this house is gorgeous! Where are we?"

Sandor swung his door open, but stopped to answer her question. "Home."

 _Home?! Is this Sandor's house?! He took me to his house... Oh dear Sansa, what have you gotten yourself into?_ Sansa hadn't meant to wait for Sandor to come open the door for her, but she was still sitting in her seat, trying to process what was happening when he pulled the truck door open. As her feet hit the ground, Sansa couldn't take her eyes off the antebellum farm house. It had a sloping tin roof and black shutters and a wide porch complete with rocking chairs. The wooden porch creaked under their weight as she stood next to Sandor while he unlocked the front door.

"Welcome. Make yourself at home." Sandor said as he headed into the kitchen.

The two story entryway was impressive, accentuated by a gorgeous rustic chandelier that caught Sansa's eye as she responded to Sandor. "If you tell me to make myself at home, I'll probably sit on your couch, pet your dog, drink all your beer, and take over the remote." Wisely, Sansa had chosen to leave out the _no pants_ part. She had a strict no pants policy when it came to binge watching Netflix on her couch while sipping on her favorite beer.

Sandor's booming laughter echoed through the kitchen. "Well I can't say that would offend me."

Smirking, Sansa turned around to go explore. The living room was down a short hallway past the stairs that led to the second floor. A large gray L-shaped couch with wooden end tables took up most of the space in the living room. There was a stone fireplace and white walls. A reclaimed barn wood coffee table sat next to the couch and was decorated with candles that were set neatly in a wooden tray. The candle wicks were black, a tell-tale sign they had been lit at some point. For a minute, Sansa wondered if Sandor had lit them in the past to set a romantic mood. She smiled at the thought. Everything about his house was all so rustic and homey. _The man has throw pillows. Throw pillows and a fluffy blanket on his couch. What bachelor has throw pillows?_ Sansa reasoned that an old girlfriend must have put her feminine touch on his house. The thought of some faceless, imaginary ex girlfriend whom the candles had been lit for and who had decorated the house suddenly gave Sansa an unreasonable twinge of jealousy. "This is beautiful!" She called out to Sandor. "It looks like Joanna Gaines decorated this place herself!"

His voice floated through the dining room. "Who?"

Sansa rejoined Sandor in the kitchen. "Joanna Gaines. The woman from that show on HGTV, _Fixer Upper."_

"Ahh. Dunno who that is. But you can compliment Margaery on the decor. She flipped out when I asked her to help me with the interior. I pretty much told her to do whatever she wanted. My bank account is still in recovery."

"Well Margaery missed her calling, then. She did a great job."

Sansa wandered across the foyer and entered a room that she assumed was Sandor's office. A large mahogany desk with a stately looking leather chair behind it sat near the back wall. Behind it was a huge framed picture of a large, well muscled black bull. Several other smaller pictures joined it on the wall, all of similar looking black bulls. Three jerseys, all with "CLEGANE" in block letters were framed on the wall between the two windows that overlooked the front porch. _High school football, college football, professional football_. Four trophy saddles were lined up against the wall with the door. _These must be from Sandor's rodeo days_ , Sansa thought as she ran her hand along the smooth leather of the seat. Framed pictures of Sandor at rodeos caught her eye above the saddles. All of the pictures were similar, with Sandor in the process of swinging his right leg over the back of a black horse, getting ready to step off and run to the end of the rope to tie the calf he had just caught. Sansa realized she was still running her fingers absentmindedly across the leather of one of the saddles. They didn't look like they had been ridden in very much, if at all. _If he's ridden in this saddle, his ass has touched this seat_ , she found herself thinking. Instead of imagining Sandor's weight in the saddle, she let herself imagine his weight on top of her. It had been too long since she had felt the weight of a real man on top of her. The thought only spurred her fantasy further, and Sansa allowed her mind to picture what he would look like on top of her as well as underneath her. On top or on the bottom...it didn't matter to Sansa. All she knew was that she wanted find out either way.

"How would you like it?"

Still lost in her daydream, Sansa had heard Sandor's question, but continued to gaze down at the saddle, imagining Sandor's ass rubbing the leather. She had never been jealous of leather. _I think I would like being on the bottom with him better. No...top._ "Both..."

Sandor's confused voice broke her train of thought, which was quickly spiraling out of control. "What?"

Shaking her head to clear her unsavory thoughts, Sansa's eyes widened as they shot to Sandor. She exhaled sharply. _"What?"_

"Coffee. How would you like your coffee? Milk, sugar, cream, whiskey...you know? Coffee." Sandor laughed as he turned and headed back into the kitchen.

 _Shit! Oh shit, he's got to think I'm some sort of lunatic!_ Quickly, Sansa left the office and joined him in the kitchen. "Almond milk if you have it, please. If not, regular milk is fine."

Scoffing loudly, Sandor opened the stainless steel refrigerator door. "Almond milk is _not_ real milk." He set a jug of whole milk on top of the butcher block island.

"Well then why do they call it milk?"

Sandor uncapped the jug and poured some milk in each mug that he had prepared. "Because no one can say nut juice with a straight face."

Hearing his reasoning, Sansa burst into laughter. "Ok _fine._ You got me there."

"You're not a vegan, or vegetarian or anything like that, are you? You're not one of those girls who only eats seeds?" Sandor asked apprehensively.

Sansa shook her head with fervor. "Oh no..no, no! I just like the taste of vanilla almond milk in my morning coffee."

With an amused smile, Sandor handed Sansa her mug. "Well, here's some dairy milk in your evening coffee." His fingers brushed hers as she took the cup and grasped the handle. Fingers that sent another surge of heat through her limbs. He winked at her as he stepped around the kitchen island and headed for the front door.

 _God, I swear...if he doesn't stop winking at me..._ Sansa followed him onto the porch and sat down in a rocking chair. Sandor set his coffee mug on the small table between the two rocking chairs and propped his feet up on the porch railing. Moses flopped down on the porch beside Sansa and grunted with contentment. The Mississippi River was just in view from the porch and was sparkling with the orange and red light from the setting sun.

"Now isn't this better than the coffee shop?" Sandor commented.

There was no denying the view of the sunset was beautiful. One even might consider the view romantic. _If this is Sandor's idea of being romantic, then he's off to a pretty good start._ Sansa nodded her head and hummed an agreement as she looked over at Sandor appreciatively.

Sitting with Sansa on his front porch, watching the sunset was all of a sudden Sandor's new favorite thing. There was little to nothing that he wouldn't do to make this situation a regular occurrence. "So tell me, what made you come to Paradise Holler?" Sandor asked as he sipped his coffee. "Not that I'm complaining or anything...I like you being here." The shy tone of Sandor's voice was too adorable to Sansa. Most of her adult life, she had been courted by arrogant, cocky men who only wanted to get into her pants. Sandor was like a breath of fresh air.

With a warm smile brought on by his comment, Sansa gave him the same brief version of her life story that she had given to Margaery earlier that day. She tiptoed around the topic of family, and also left a few of the unpleasant details pertaining to her past relationships. Like how Joffrey had liked to yell at her and slap her around whenever she had done something to piss him off. Which was always. When she was done with her short biography, she asked Sandor about his life. She could tell he was holding some parts of his story back, but Sansa knew she couldn't hold it against him since she had forgone sensitive information as well. It was only the first time they had hung out, after all.

Sandor told her the same basic story that Margaery had told her while they were in her classroom. Sansa quickly decided she liked hearing it from Sandor better. He hadn't said anything about his childhood or family, and Sansa briefly wondered if they were still in his life. His accent was mesmerizing. The words he spoke rolled off his tongue with a timbre of warmth that was distinctly southern.

"So why math?" Sansa asked once he had reached the part of his story that pertained to his teaching.

Thoughtfully, Sandor looked out at the expanse of his front yard. The light of the sun had almost fully faded and lighting bugs were beginning to flash periodically between the limbs of the large tree in the yard. "Math is free from emotion. Reading and writing stems from thoughts and feelings, and I was never any good at that stuff in school. I'm still no good at them now. There's no gray area in math. A problem is either right or wrong and there's no room for interpretation."

 _He truly is an insightful man,_ Sansa thought as she swirled the last tiny bit of coffee in her mug. She suddenly found herself wanting more. Not because she was thirsty for more coffee, she just wanted to make this evening last.

Before she could say anything else, the bright light of Sandor's phone shone on his face as he checked the time. "Oh shit, it's past nine. Let's get you home." The pout on Sansa's face went unnoticed by Sandor as they stood to take their coffee mugs back inside.

When Sandor pulled his truck to a stop in front of the coffee shop, Sansa didn't know what to do. _This wasn't really a date, so I shouldn't expect a goodnight kiss. Or was it a date?_ Oh but she wanted a goodnight kiss. Very badly. The sheer thought of him kissing her ignited a fire in Sansa's belly as she unbuckled her seatbelt with shaking hands. As he had done earlier, Sandor quickly made his way to Sansa's side of the truck and opened the door to help her out.

"Sorry I kept you out so late. Hope you won't regret hanging out with me in the morning." Sandor said sheepishly as he stood next to Sansa on the sidewalk. With his hands in his pockets, he looked down at the ground and scuffed his boot through some loose gravel.

"No, absolutely not." Sansa insisted quickly. "I really enjoyed myself, thank you. For the coffee. And for the company." She added quickly.

A small smile crept to Sandor's face. "Well, goodnight, Sansa."

"Goodnight, Sandor." _A hug would probably be most appropriate,_ Sansa thought as she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Sandor must have been thinking the same thing, because he reached his hands down to her at the same second she reached up. Their arms clumsily bumped together as they tried to fit them around each other. They laughed and tried again, this time fitting together perfectly. As she embraced him, Sansa inhaled deeply, taking his musky, masculine scent into her nostrils. Always one to connect smells with memories, Sansa had a hopeful feeling that Sandor's scent would quickly become associated with happy memories. To her disappointment, Sandor was the first to pull away from their hug. But only marginally. The streetlamp shone on the unscarred side of his face and Sansa marveled at how handsome he looked as she gazed up at him. His tongue darted out of his mouth and across his bottom lip, and for a brief moment, Sansa excitedly thought he meant to kiss her. But instead, he moved his hands on her shoulders and let them glide down her arms.

"Goodnight." Sandor whispered again as he stepped away towards his truck.

"Goodnight..."

The conflicted feelings that Sansa felt for Sandor were borderline overwhelming. There was nothing about _him_ per say that she felt conflicted about, but rather the hypothetical relationship that she found herself wanting with him. She wanted Sandor. In more than just a sexual way. She didn't want him for just a booty call, or for a long awaited rebound, she wanted to _be_ with him. But she couldn't ignore how her brain was still insisting that she wasn't ready for a serious relationship after her tumultuous and at times, abusive courtship with Joffrey. The internal, uncharted waters that she was drowning in were throwing off her instincts, which were usually much sharper. The only thing to do was to hope that Sandor would understand her feelings and her reasoning.


	5. Eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all...happy Friday! My summer is dwindling down...only a few weeks left before I go back to work :( I'm going to try to get as much writing done as I can before then. So far, this chapter has been my favorite one that I have written! I am still so thrilled that y'all are loving this story and I am blown away by all the love and support these characters are getting. I was really hesitant about writing a story with a sweet Sandor...since that's so out of the norm for him, but I am really glad that y'all like him so far :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, and as always...please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Happy reading xoxoxo

Except for the two hours Sandor had spent meeting with the other high school math teachers, Sandor had spent the majority of his Friday morning organizing his classroom. Through droopy, lazy eyes, Moses had watched Sandor unpack the rest of his boxes, hook up his smartboard, and wander aimlessly in cirlces around his room. Since the students were responsible for bringing their own supplies according to what was listed on the twelfth grade syllabus, Sandor didn't have to keep a ton in his room. But he always kept a stockpile of materials for the occasional student whose parents couldn't afford to buy them. Especially those outrageously expensive graphing calculators that were required for high school math. Sandor knew what it was like to grow up without having very much, and he hated seeing students doing without the things that they needed to be successful.

It was hot in his classroom. Or maybe it was just because he hadn't stopped moving since he set foot in the room. Either way, Sandor pulled his hat from his head and pulled the elastic band from his hair, shaking it loose. The school administration was lenient about Sandor's hair. Varys had told him that as long as Sandor kept his hair neat and not too far past his shoulders, he could keep it long. To stay in good faith with his boss, Sandor visited the barber shop in town every month for a trim. If anyone asked him, Sandor would deny that he kept his hair long to hide his scars. Most of the time he had it pulled back or had a hat on his head, but he did in fact keep it long in case he wanted it to hide behind. Everyone in town knew him and had gotten used to what he looked like. However, Sandor liked knowing that he had his curtain of solitude to cover his deformity, should he ever need it.

The heat was making him perspire, and his t-shirt was sticking to his sweaty torso. His days of wearing casual clothes were numbered. Once the students started back, Sandor would have to exchange his t-shirts and jeans for khakis and button up shirts and polo shirts. He still wore his square toed cowboy boots, and had a pair he kept nice just for school. After teaching his classes, he would always change into athletic clothes for football practice. This usually consisted of gym shorts and a t-shirt or sweatpants and a hoodie when it was cold. In addition to changing his wardrobe, Sandor would also soon have to watch his foul mouth more closely. Of course the occasional curse word on the football field could be overlooked, but cussing in the classroom he knew would get him into trouble. More than once or twice, Sandor had come dangerously close to slipping up with his language while teaching.

With a grunt, Sandor scraped his hair back and looped it before securing it with the elastic band. He slid his hat onto his head and heaved a sigh. All morning, Sandor had been trying and failing miserably to come up with an excuse to ask Sansa for her phone number. There was no way he could just walk up to her, ask her for her digits, then kick rocks. Oh no. This required planning. Conversation had to be initiated that smoothly gave way to a reason for needing her phone number. Dwelling on his long list of failed theories on how to accomplish his task, Sandor ambled to the window. With two long fingers, he pushed the blinds aside to peek out into the parking lot. Sandor knew he would be telling a huge lie if he said he hadn't parked next to the black Honda with the Georgia plates on purpose. He had known exactly what he had been doing that morning as he artfully backed his large truck into the parking space next to the small sedan. It had been done in hopes of accidentally running into Sansa as they left their buildings in the afternoon. Another lie. If Sandor ran into Sansa as they approached their vehicles, it would definitely not be an accident. Sandor had almost talked himself into walking to Sansa's building to see if she had eaten lunch yet when he heard male voices behind him.

"We've got pizza!"

Sandor turned and saw Tormund and Beric enter his room carrying three large boxes of pizza.

"What the hell are you doing staring out the window?" Inquired Tormund.

Sandor grunted as he walked across the room. "Not a damn thing. Meat lovers?"

Beric laughed and lowerd the stack of boxes down onto one of the student desks. "For you, of course."

Despite the fact that his friends had ruined his hypothetical lunch plans with Sansa, Sandor couldn't deny the fact that he was starving. And pizza sounded damn good. Besides Bronn and Ray, Tormund and Beric were Sandor's only other close friends. Tormund taught chemistry and life science and coached the junior varsity football team with Davos Seaworth. On the field, he was brutal and rough. But in the classroom, he was known for his jovial, laid back attitude. More times than Sandor could count, Tormund had worn a t-shirt to school that said "I love telling chemistry jokes. But I usually get no reaction." Beric taught world geography, a subject that was well known to him due to his stint traveling in the Army. During his years of service, he had lost his right eye and had resulted to wearing an eye patch to cover the damage. Sandor claimed one of the pizza boxes as his own and sank into his desk chair and promptly propped his boots up on the corner of his desk.

Between his bites of pizza, Tormund mumbled, "You've got shit tables manners, Clegane."

"Yeah, and you talk with your mouth full."

Beric was being oddly quiet. But Sandor knew him well and knew that when he was being quiet, it usually meant he was about to ask a question. He only hoped Beric wasn't going to ask ab-

"Hey have y'all met the new kindergarten teacher yet?"

Tormund immediately dropped the slice of pizza he had been working on into the box that sat in his lap. "I haven't met her, but I've sure seen her. She's beautiful! Another beautiful ginger. We could use a little more color at this school."

Opting to stay out of the conversation as much as possible, Sandor busied himself with his pizza and tried his absolute best to seem nonchalant. Tormund however, kept running his mouth.

"I wonder if she's single..."

After a chuckle, Beric spoke up agian. "I think she might already be spoken for."

Tormund let his mouth hang open. "By who? Who could have possibly gotten to her already?"

Beric turned his amused smile to Sandor, who froze with his pizza raised halfway to his mouth. "What? What are you lookin' at me for?"

"Oh I dunno, Clegane...maybe because you were seen leaving the school parking lot with her in the front seat of your truck last night."

With an annoyed grunt, Sandor wiped his hands in his jeans as he quickly scrambled out of his chair. "I've got to go take a sh-"

Even though Sandor was quick, Beric was quicker. He reached out and grabbed Sandor's belt and yanked back so hard Sandor almost lost his balance before he fell back into his seat. "Ooooh no you don't, Clegane! You can shit later. You're going to sit right here and tell us all about your little date with Sansa."

Elsewhere in the school, Sansa had been diligently putting the finishing touches on her classroom. Margaery had enthusiastically clapped her hands together as Sansa told her about her evening with Sandor. She had practically exploded when Sansa had asked which room in the high school building was Sandor's.

Though Sansa couldn't exactly say why she wanted to go to his room, or what she would say to him once she arrived, she found herself walking down the long hallway of his building. As she approached the last door on the right, the unmistakable smell of pizza wafted to her nose, and the sound of men's voices reached her ears. Not wanting to be seen just yet, Sansa edged down the hallway close to the wall. One of the voices she knew was Sandor's. The other two she couldn't place. Careful to miss the large metal rolling cart full of student Chromebooks, Sansa inched closer with her back pressed to the wall. She stopped just a few feet away from the doorway to Sandor's classroom. A man whose voice she didn't recognize, followed by a loud _thud_ could be heard.

"Ooooh no you don't, Clegane! You can shit later. You're going to sit right here and tell us all about your little date with Sansa."

Frozen in place, Sansa flattened herself flush to the cinderblock wall and listened with earnest. _They're talking about me! Eavesdropping is bad, Sansa. Very very bad! You should probably leave right now._ Despite the urging of the logical side of her brain, Sansa remained in place and craned her neck to hear better.

"It wasn't a _date."_ She heard Sandor insist. Even though she had assured Margaery the exact same thing not but a few hours ago, Sansa couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment upon hearing Sandor say what they had wasn't a date.

"We just had a cup of coffee together."

Sansa heard another man with a deep, smooth voice reply. "And just where did y'all go?"

"I took her back to my place."

"What?!" A man with a loud, gruff voice exclaimed. "Anything happen?!"

 _"No._..nothing happened. We talked, we drank coffee, I drove her home, we hugged. That was it."

"How come you took her to your place and not Olenna's?"

Sandor's sigh could be heard, followed by his voice. "Cause I wanted to spend more than just thirty minutes with her."

When Sansa heard him admit that Sandor had wanted to spend more time with her, she could feel her heart fluttering against her chest, threatening to burst out and soar away. _Ok, you've had your fun, Sansa...time to leave. Before you hear something you wish you hadn't._

"Plus if I had taken her to the coffee shop, half the town would think we're sleeping together. You know how folks around here are and how they like to assume things."

Someone in the room grunted in agreement. "But you want to sleep with her...don't you?"

 _Oh shit...Sansa you are about to find out exactly what kind of man Sandor Clegane is..._ Sansa squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for the worst.

The unmistakable sound of Sandor's deep laughter drifted into the hallway. "Well, yea I want to sleep with her. Who wouldn't? She's a fuckin' knockout."

 _Fucking knockout. Ok, knockout is fine... I'll take it. But did he have to throw 'fucking' in there?_ Sansa winced and covered her mouth to stifle the labored breaths spilling from her lungs.

"But..." When she heard Sandor's voice continue, Sansa's stomach did an involuntary flip.

"...I'm only gonna say this once, so y'all listen good. That is not the reason I am pursuing her. I... _shit,_ I dunno...I like her."

 _He likes me._.. The thirteenth year old girl inside Sansa was doing cartwheels around and around her brain.

Booming laughter from Sandor's unknown companions could be heard. "OHH...OHH...Clegane is _pursuing a woman!"_

"Clegane has _evolved!_ You've got a _crush_ on this woman!"

Panic set in when Sansa heard the creak of a desk chair as weight left it. "Ok, fuck you...and...fuck you." The laughter continued as heavy footsteps came closer to the doorway.

 _Shit, shit, shit!_ Desperate to get away, Sansa whirled around and forced her wobbly legs to carry her down the hallway. As she lifted her leg to take another running step, her foor crashed right into the forgotten rolling cart full of laptops. Sickening pain, the kind you can only get from destroying your delicate toe on something hard, surged through Sansa's body as she sank down to one knee.

 _"OOWWW!"_ She hissed as she let her bottom fall to the floor in the middle of the hallway. "Ow...shit! Ow, ow, ow!" Sansa reached a hand down to examine the middle toe she had hit.

"Sansa?!"

 _Oh fuck. Here we go._ Sansa squeezed her eyes shut momentarily and let the humiliation wash over her as she opened them and sheepishly looked up at Sandor.

"What are you...are you ok? What happened?" The concern in his voice couldn't be missed as he knelt next to Sansa's side. Neither could the horror on his face of the realization that she had just heard him tell his friends that yes, he wanted to sleep with her.

Sansa heard the laughter of the men who were in the classroom as they leaned out of the doorway with astonished, wide mouth smiles on their faces. Sandor turned and snapped at them. "You two, out!"

The men disappeared back into the room and then rushed out the back door, pizza boxes in hand, laughing all the while.

"They're not laughing at you, they're laughing at me." Sandor assured her as he pushed himself back upright and held his hand out for her. "Can you stand?"

With all the dignity Sansa could muster, which wasn't very much, she took his hand and braced against it to pull herself up. She put some weight on her foot but immediately balked at the pain and drew it back up.

With a chuckle, Sandor bent slightly and scooped her up. "Come on, stumblefoot. Let's get you fixed up." With one arm tucked under her knees and the other around her back, Sandor carried her through the doorway, careful not to hit her feet or her head on the doorframe.

A small gasp shot from Sansa's mouth as Sandor effortlessly picked her up. Instinctively, she put her arms around his neck and pulled herself close. From where she was cradled in his arms, she had a good view of the scarred side of his face. She was close enough to reach out and touch it, and wanted to, but didn't. Although she did allow herself to wonder how it would feel under her fingertips. _Hard or soft? Smooth or rough?_ At once, she decided she didn't care what it felt like. All she cared about was her desire to one day be able to kiss and touch every inch of his face. Scars and all.

With surprising finesse of a man who was so large in size, Sandor lowered Sansa onto his desk. He quickly pulled up a chair facing her, sat down and raised her foot up to prop on his knee.

"Sandor, you really don't have to...please, I'll be alright." Sandor ignored her and continued to assess the damage. "Really, my feet are probably disgusting...I've been runnin' around cleaning in my flip flops..."

Feigning annoyance, Sandor looked up at her with a sideways smile. "You think I'm scared of your little grocery store feet? I deal with this shit with my players all the time...only with them there's no tellin' where their nasty, athlete's foot infested, teenage feet have been."

Sansa watched as Sandor took a first aid kit from a drawer in the desk she sat on top of. Once he resumed his position in front of her with her heel propped on his knee, he asked her to try to bend her toe. Sandor watched her closely, gauging the level of pain on her face. Sansa winced, but was able to curl her toes towards the ball of her foot. The sight of Sansa curling her toes made Sandor immediately want to see those toes curl again for other reasons. Reasons that involved her being underneath him as her body shook in response to his tender caresses. Sandor shook his head and cleared his throat. "Uh...doesn't look broken, probably just sprained." Sandor mumbled as he took a roll of athletic tape from the first aid kit. After tearing a length of tape from the roll, Sandor ripped it in half lengthwise and slipped it between Sansa's hurt toe and the one next to it.

Sansa's lips parted with apprehensive breaths when she felt Sandor gently wrap the tape around her toes. He glanced up and saw her pull her bottom lip into her teeth as she flushed an adorable shade of pink. Sandor wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her ankles, her calves, trail his rough lips up her slender thigh. He wanted to nuzzle his stubble covered cheek at the junction where her thigh met her hip. Actions that would probably more or less get him slapped at that moment in time. Instead, he asked one of the most awkward questions of his life. "So...uh...what...what all did you hear? A few minutes ago?"

After stealing a nervous glance up at Sansa, he heard her terse, one word answer. "Enough."

 _Oh fuck. Fuck! I am so fucked._ Sandor heaved a sigh and began to formulate an apology in his head as he stuck the end of the tape back onto itself. His stomach tightened when he heard Sansa continue.

"Enough to realize you're a better man than most. Enough to want to get to know you better."

 _Wait...what?!_ In an unbelieving stupor, Sandor mouthed his exact thoughts out loud. "Wait...what?"

A small laugh came from Sansa's beautiful lips as she slid her hips off the edge of the desk and put her feet on the floor. "Most men who were talking about a woman with their guy friends and thought no one was listening...which I'm sorry for that, by the way...probably wouldn't have said what you said. About that not being the reason you were...pursuing me." The last two words were said with such sweetness that it made Sandor want to gather her in his arms and lay kisses from her neck to her forehead. With careful steps, Sansa hobbled to the white board in Sandor's room and picked up a dry erase marker.

 _Well fuck me! Score one point for being a gentleman._ Sandor quickly scrambled for something to say that mirrored a better version of his thoughts. "Told you I could be a gentleman."

After flashing Sandor a shy smile over her shoulder, Sansa turned back to the board, uncapped the marker and proceeded to write something. Sandor couldn't help by lean over in his chair to try and see what she was writing. He snapped back upright as Sansa turned back around and stepped slowly away. His stubborn, infatuated mind refused to work as what she had written came into view. _Numbers. Lots of numbers. Parentheses. Holy shit!_ "Is that your ph-" Sandor's voice failed him as he attemped his question.

"My phone number, yes."

_Well I'll be damned._

"So Margaery is still pretty insistent on taking me out tonight to that place...what was it called again?"

"The Rivershack."

"Yes! That's the one." Sansa stood in the doorway that led to the hall and idly twirled a lock of hair from her ponytail. "Are you going to be-"

"Yes." Sandor hadn't meant to answer her before she could even get the whole question out. Or in such a loud voice. He could feel the tip of his good ear burning with red-hot embarrassment that was quickly spreading over the rest of his face.

Sansa giggled and turned to leave. Before she did, she gestured to the board with her eyes. "Well, text me later."

Abruptly, Sandor stood up. "Do you need help walking back to your classroom? I've got a good shoulder to lean on." The hopefulness in his voice had borderlined desperation and Sandor grimmaced at how his words sounded.

With a sweet smile, Sansa shook her head. "No, I think I'll be able to manage. Thank you though." She glanced down at her bandaged toes. "And thank you for taking care of me." She added quietly.

"No problem." Sandor picked up the roll of athletic tape and handed it to her. "Here, take this. You'll probably want to keep that toe bandaged for a day or two."

"Won't you need this for your first aid kit?"

"Nah, I can swipe another roll from the locker room."

"Thank you. Well, I guess I'll see you later?" The last part was spoken like a question.

Nodding his head, Sandor replied, "You bet."

After Sansa disappeared from sight, Sandor sank back into his chair to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He addressed Moses, who was still snoozing on his bed. "You saw that, right?" Moses snorted in response. Sandor dug his phone from his pocket and quickly saved Sansa's number in his phone, double and triple checking to make sure his trembling fingers had typed in the numbers in the correct order. When he was done, he opened his texts, but not to send one to her. First, he needed backup.

**Sandor: Hey man can I ask you a dumb question?**

**Bronn: Better than anyone I know.**

**Sandor: Ha fucking ha. I'm serious man.**

**Bronn: Ok, shoot.**

**Sandor: So when a woman gives you her phone number and tells you to text her later, how do I know when "later" is?**

**Bronn: Ahh so you asked the lovely Sansa for her phone number! I'm proud of you man!**

Sandor rolled his eyes at the phone screen. He wasn't too surprised that Bronn knew about he and Sansa...Margaery must have told him. Not that he was mad or anything, he knew Margaery told Bronn everything. And after all, she had seen him writing notes to Sansa during the meeting. It wasn't like he was trying to be subtle about it.

**Sandor: ACTUALLY she gave it to me without me having to ask for it.**

**Bronn: Uh oh, look out! Movin on up in the world Clegane!**

**Sandor: So anyway, back to my question. When should I text her?**

**Bronn: When are you goin to see her next?**

**Sandor: Tonight, Margaery wanted all of us to go to The Rivershack. Didn't she tell you?**

**Bronn: Oh yeah! Fuck I forgot about that. I'll be there after my shift. Definitely text her before then.**

**Sandor: What should I say?**

**Bronn: Hell I don't know dickhead! I've been with Margaery so long I don't know how to flirt with a new girl anymore!**

**Bronn: You are an intelligent man, I'm sure you'll think of somethin.**

**Sandor: Aight, well thanks for your help, asswipe.**

**Bronn: You're welcome Professor Dickwad.**

Even though Sansa was able to put weight on her foot, her toe was throbbing by the time she made it back to her classroom. It was starting to turn an unusual shade of purple and blue. _Yet another memento of my less than amazing luck with men._ In the hallway, Pod and Margaery were chatting and noticed her labored movements.

"Damn, Sansa! What happened?" Pod asked as they rushed after her into her classroom.

The humiliation still prevalent on her face, Sansa shook her head and laughed. _"Don't ask."_

"Gah what'd Sandor do, girl? Stomp on your foot?" Margaery asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

With a roll of her eyes and a giggle, Sansa regained her coworkers with her stellar tale of how she had run into the rolling cart after hearing Sandor and his friends talking.

Both Margaery and Pod were reduced to fits of laughter by the time Sansa had finished. "Wait, wait, wait... can we back up for a hot second?" Margaery held her hand up with a wide grin. "You overheard him say that he wanted to _sleep with you?!"_ Her eyes were wide with delight at the idea.

"Well yeah, but it's what he said afterwards that got me." Sanda turned her attention to Pod. "Pod, you're a man..."

"You don't miss a thing, do you Sansa?"

She shot him a withering look. "Well how many men do you know of that would admit something like that to their guy friends? That he was pursuing me for reasons other than sleeping with me?"

Pod raised his eyes to the ceiling as he thought. "Well, not very many I guess. Most would have said something a lot more raunchy."

With her wide smile still on her face, Margaery waggled her finger at Sansa. "Sandor's a sweetheart..."

"So it seems."


	6. Amazed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their week! I'm very excited to share this chapter with y'all! Sansa and Sandor have their first public "outing" at The Rivershack! Let's get excited! I still really appreciate the response to this story and can't believe it is being received so well! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Happy reading xoxo
> 
> Oh, P.S. ......please make sure you read my note at the end! :)

Usually, the old saying goes "money burns a hole in your pocket." After getting paid, most people just can't wait to spend their money. Well, that Friday afternoon, Sandor's phone had been burning a hole in his pocket. He was dying to text Sansa. All afternoon as he attempted to complete lesson plans for the first week of school, Sandor had been trying to come up with something to say to Sansa when he finally texted her, besides the obligatory "Hey, it's Sandor" text. Not having any luck with his concentration, Sandor abandoned his lesson planning and decided to sneak away from the school at 2:45, a whole forty five minutes before he was supposed to leave. _Varys will get over it_. The louder than average diesel engine in his truck was painfully conspicuous as he eased out of the parking lot, hoping to be unnoticed. Once home, Sandor knew he had work to do before meeting everyone at The Rivershack later. Since time was of the essence, Sandor chose not to take the time to catch and saddle his old black gelding, Stranger to check cows. Instead, he opted for his four wheeler. As he checked his cows, he saw that Ray had already filled the feeders that needed to be filled. That would cut back on his chore time for the evening. With Moses keeping good time next to the four wheeler, Sandor eased around the property, checking the welfare of his livestock, scrubbing the automatic water tanks, refilling the mineral tubs, and checking for loose strands of barbed wire. It was a little after 5:00 when he made it back to the barn. After feeding Ray's horse Seven, and Bronn's young horse, who he had affectionately named Asshat after the colt had thrown him repeatedly during the breaking process, Sandor fed Stranger. He stood next to the black horse as he nosed around in the grain bucket.

"Next time, bud." Sandor promised him as he scratched his forehead. "I'll take you out next time, I promise." Stranger seemed uninterested in his owner as he ground his feed between his teeth. He was a good, sturdy horse. Having been hauled to countless rodeos and ropings, Stranger had seen it all, and hardly anything phased him. Even though he was starting to get some age on him, he was still sound, and aggressive with cows, which made him an ideal mount for sorting and working cattle.

At 6:15, after feeding Moses and taking a lengthy shower, relieving himself from some pent up tension, Sandor absolutely could not wait any longer to text Sansa. He took a deep breath and opened his text messages. With nervous, shaky fingers, he typed out his initial greeting.

**Sandor: Hey there, it's Sandor.**

To Sandor's delight, her response was almost instant.

**Sansa: Well hello. What are you up to?**

**Sandor: Just got done checkin the cows and gettin everyone fed.**

**Sansa: And how were the cows?**

**Sandor: They're good. A little hot, but they've got plenty of shade and water. What are you doin?**

**Sansa: I just got out of the shower.**

A few years ago, Tormund had given Sandor some unsolicited advice on the art of talking to females. _"Whenever a woman tells you that she just got out of the shower," he had told him, "it means that they want for you to think about them naked. If a woman wasn't into you, she wouldn't tell you that."_ At the time, Sandor had rolled his eyes at his friend, and had dismissed his asinine comment. Whether Tormund was correct or not, Sandor couldn't exactly say. But for time time being, Sandor allowed himself to think of Tormund's reasoning as legitimate, and that Sansa was in fact, into him. All Sandor could do was picture Sansa's glorious naked body, water dripping off of her smooth skin as she dabbed it with a soft towel. _Well if she wanted me to picture her naked, it damn sure worked_. Even though he had just rubbed one out in the shower not half an hour ago, Sandor felt his dick harden in his jeans. He had jerked off with the hope that be might be able to avoid an unwanted embarrassing erection in Sansa's presence that night. Apparently that wasn't going to work. There were dozens of raunchy things he could text back that came to his mind. _God I really suck at this..._

**Sandor: Oh yeah? How'd that go?**

As soon as he hit the send button, Sandor grimaced and closed his eyes. _Nice one, Sandor._ It took a while for Sansa to respond. Sandor only hoped it was because she was drying her hair or something and not contemplating deleting his number.

**Sansa: Lol well I guess it was ok...**

**Sandor: How's that toe doin?**

**Sansa: It still hurts. I had to take the bandage off to shower. I guess I'll have to attempt to put a new one on by myself.**

**Sandor: Well wear some better shoes tonight instead of those damn flip flaps.**

**Sansa: Flip flaps?! Haha wtf?!**

**Sandor: Flaps, flops...whatever. They're ridiculous shoes that are only useful when you're at the beach or bathing in a questionable shower.**

**Sansa: Questionable shower...?**

**Sandor: When you're staying overnight at a rodeo and are forced to use whatever "shower" they have at the arena because the one in your horse trailer is broken...you're gonna want some flip flops. Other than that, they're only useful if you want to demolish your toe.**

**Sansa: Can't say that I have ever been in a "questionable shower" situation...**

**Sandor: How's it comin with the bandage?**

**Sansa: I'm managing ok I guess. I'm not as handy as you are with the tape. Too bad you're not here to help me with it again...**

Panic mode set in when Sandor read her latest text. On his couch, he sat frozen, with his elbows propped on his thighs as he tried to decipher some sort of hidden meaning behind Sansa's message. His initial thought was to offer for him to come over and wrap her toes up for her. But he quickly dismissed the ridiculous thought that would make him reek of desperation. He must have waited to respond longer than he realized because as he sat there, another text from her came through.

**Sansa: This toe bandage really doesn't go with my outfit...**

**Sandor: Well sorry I didn't have any hot pink tape to give you.**

**Sansa: Hot pink wouldn't go with my outfit tonight anyway.**

**Sandor: Well what are you wearing?**

_NOO! Fuck why the hell did I send her that?!_ It had been an automatic response, and Sandor could only desperately hope that Sansa didn't take it the wrong way. He saw the pulsing bubbles on the screen that meant Sansa was in the process of texting him back. The bubbles disappeared for a few seconds, only to start back again. _Great...she's probably slamming out some slap in the face in the form of words._

**Sansa: Well I'm still not wearing anything right now, I'm doing my makeup. Clothes will come next ;)**

The breath Sandor had been holding shot out of his mouth. He couldn't help smile at the winky face Sansa had sent. Decoding women's text messages and their underlying meanings had never been a strength of Sandor's. For a minute, he wished Tormund was there to help him figure out what she meant. _Ok she basically just told me that she's still naked...and sent a smiling winky face. That has to mean something._

**Sandor: My bad...I'll quit distracting you and let you go back to gettin ready :)**

**Sansa: You're not distracting me. I mean, you're not the reason I'm not wearing clothes right now.**

**Sansa: Shit, that came out wrong!**

**Sansa: I mean, the reason I'm not wearing clothes is because I just took a shower.**

**Sansa: I'm going to go put some clothes on right now.**

After reading her texts, Sandor laughed in spite of himself. Maybe she was as nervous as he was. That comforted him slightly. He suddenly felt emboldened and dared himself to act on his thoughts.

**Sandor: Well that's a shame...**

**Sansa: I might attract some unwanted attention if I were to show up at The Rivershack in the nude...**

**Sandor: Even fully clothed, I'm sure you will still attract plenty of attention.**

**Sansa: It still might be unwanted, though.**

Definitely still feeling bolder than normal, Sandor decided to throw all caution to the wind.

**Sandor: Would the attention be unwanted if it was from me?**

Once the text was sent, Sandor furrowed his brow and sucked in a breath of air through clenched teeth. He waited anxiously for her response. It came sooner than he expected.

**Sansa: No. Definitely not.**

Sandor let his body fall back onto the cushions of the couch, his phone still limply clutched in his hand. Mildly proud of himself, he had just successfully, and hopefully communicated his desire for her. He only hoped that she hadn't taken his comments the wrong way. Either way...Sandor knew one thing. He was done for.

Worlds different from the hip, chic clubs of downtown Atlanta that Sansa was used to, The Rivershack was just a large, wooden building that sat on the edge of an inlet of the Mississippi River. From the outside, it looked slightly dilapidated. Inside there was a long, rustic bar along one side, about half a dozen pool tables, some tables for sitting, and a small stage behind a wooden dance floor. The walls were covered with antique metal signs, some with liquor or beer logos. Lighting inside was dim and consisted mostly of dozens of strings of lights that hung from the ceiling. A few neon signs behind the bar area added to the light in the room.

Margaery had been able to get her car back that afternoon, and had picked Sansa up around 7:30. Sansa was feeling over excited, and a bit nervous to see Sandor after exchanging all those flirty texts with him. She had finally put some clothes on and had dressed herself in a simple navy blue t-shirt dress that hung loosely around her thighs.

The girls made their way to the bar, turning heads as they went. Margaery had opted for a white tube top and blue jean shorts that left little to the imagination and her wavy brown hair hung around her shoulders. A band was set up on the stage and was playing cover songs of George Strait, Waylon Jennings and other old country singers of that variety. Sansa ordered a Blue Moon beer and turned to survey the people around the bar. She also told Margaery about her text conversation with Sandor.

"So you think you like him?"

Sansa bit her lip and peeled a loose corner of the label on her beer bottle. "Yeah...I think I do."

With an appreciative smile, Margaery patted her arm. "Well, just be careful with his feelings. Sandor might put on a front like he's this carefree tough guy. But he's got a tender heart and guards it fiercely." Margaery sipped from her Miller Lite and studied Sansa's face. "The last woman he tried to date shit on his heart and he took it real hard."

"How long ago was that?"

Pausing to consider Sansa's question, Margaery pursed her lips together and looked away. "Hmm...I think about three years ago or so."

It had only been six months since Sansa had left Joffrey back in February. Before coming to Mississippi, Sansa had lived with her brother Robb and his wife in their loft in Atlanta until she finished the school year. At her brother's urging, she had been out on a date or two, but the men didn't seem to fit. Nothing of her life in Atlanta had fit her anymore.

"Just be honest and open with him. Don't lead him on or anything."

Sansa shook her head. "No, that's the last thing I want to do," she insisted.

With a grin on her face, Margaery gestured with her head over Sansa's shoulder. Sansa turned on her barstool just in time to see Sandor enter the establishment. He had on nice starched jeans and boots, and a red, long sleeve button up shirt. He had traded his baseball cap for a well shaped straw cowboy hat. It wasn't one of those tacky, floppy ones that you could find at a novelty store. This was the real deal, it was the kind that authentic cowboys wore with a straight brim in the front and sides that creased sharply to frame his eyes. She willed her breath to steady and her heart rate to decline as he smiled and began walking towards her. As he closed the space between them, Sansa felt her face grow warm.

"Hello ladies." Sandor drawled in his deep, raspy voice.

Sansa smiled and managed a flustered _hello_ as he slid onto the barstool next to her.

"Well..." Margaery began as she pushed herself away from the bar, "I'm going to go see if Pod wants to lose at pool." She flashed a sideways smile at Sansa. "Have fun, you two."

"Whiskey on the rocks, please." Sandor addressed the bartender who had finally looked his way. With his drink in hand, he turned to Sansa. "Glad to see you finally found something to wear." He sipped from his glass and looked down to her feet and raised an eyebrow. "Nice boots."

With a quizzical smile, Sansa glanced down at her boots. They were the only western boots she owned. She had bought the Corral fashion boots a few years earlier when the theme for her old school's annual "Spring Sing" concert was "down on the farm." They came up just below her knees and were embellished with elegant stitched designs and a few rhinestones. "What's wrong with my boots?"

Her comment drew a chuckle from Sandor. "Nothin! They're just not what I would consider real cowboy boots. Guess they're more of the fashion variety."

 _He's teasing me,_ Sansa thought with a smirk. "Well I haven't really had any need for _real cowboy boots_ being from Atlanta, now have I?"

"No, I guess you're right. They're cute. And they look good on you."

"Well thank you. And you look very nice as well." Sansa eyed the wide brim of Sandor's hat. "No baseball cap tonight?" His hair was pulled back into a neat, low bun and was barely visible under the brim. _Damn he is so handsome..._

"Nah, I usually wear a cowboy hat out for special occasions."

"And what sort of special occasion are we celebrating tonight?"

"Well I don't know about the other folks here, but _I_ am celebrating your arrival in Paradise Holler." With a small smile, Sandor shyly looked away and took another sip of his drink.

Sansa raised her beer bottle to him. "Well...cheers to that, then."

In response to her toast, Sandor raised his glass and lightly tapped the rim to her bottle. "Cheers."

As the bar became more crowded, Sansa and Sandor moved to the corner where the pool tables were. Pod had lost miserably to Margaery and was re-racking the balls for a second game. Sansa met another young man who everyone knew with handsome features whose name was Gendry. She blushed furiously when she realized he was another one of the men from the group who had seen her stellar entrance the other day at The Market. She also met Ros, the object of Pod's affection, and a devastatingly attractive dark haired man who had introduced himself as Troy.

Sandor had called to play the winner of Margaery and Pod's game and was now racking the balls to play Pod. As he leaned over the table to strike the cue ball, he couldn't help but notice how Troy seemed to have taken an immediate liking to Sansa. What disturbed him even more was the fact that Sansa seemed to reciprocate his feelings, laughing and smiling prettily at whatever bullshit he was spouting off to her. He knew Troy from seeing him around town. Even though Sandor wouldn't consider him a close friend like Bronn, Tormund or Beric, he was a decent guy to hang around. Even if he was a bit of a braggart. They had even crossed paths and had some drinks with the other guys they both knew from time to time. He was an insurance agent at the local Farm Bureau. Troy was suave, cocky, and at times, arrogant. He also had a whole face, which seemed to be working in his favor at that point in time. Troy disappeared for a few minutes, only to return from the bar with a full beer for Sansa. Sandor ground his teeth together at the sight and wanted to kick himself for not taking the initiative to buy her another drink. _Dumb pretty boy cunt._ Sandor struck the white ball forcefully towards the triangle of billiard balls and sent them scattering across the green felt, pocketing two striped ones. He eased around the table and attempted to hone in on Troy's conversation with Sansa.

"So you've never seen the Mississippi River?!" Troy exclaimed with one hand on his hip.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sandor saw Sansa shake her head. "Not really. Not up close anyway."

"Well come with me!" Sandor snapped his head towards them only to see Troy guiding Sansa to the back door that led to the deck with his hand on the small of her back. _That son of a bitch.._. Pod's voice barely registered in his brain as he watched them walk away.

"Sandor, your go."

Before Sansa and Troy disappeared through the door that led outside, Sansa turned her head and locked eyes with Sandor. He couldn't decipher the expression on her face and watched sadly as she turned the corner onto the deck. Pod called to him again.

_"Sandor..."_

With a grunt, Sandor turned his attention back to the game.

"Wow, the view is gorgeous!" Sansa breathed as she took in the view of the river. The full moon shone beautifully on the rippling water below. A warm breeze rustled the leaves on the tall trees around the deck of the bar and fireflies were blinking amongst the limbs. It was a very romantic atmosphere. Too bad Sandor wasn't the one to bring me out here.

Troy leaned an elbow on the railing, but angled his body towards her. "Yeah, it's pretty great. Not as gorgeous as you are, though." He paused as if to let Sansa swoon from his comment. "There's lots of great spots around here on the river to fish. Have you ever been fishing before?"

"No, never."

Troy beamed like she had just agreed to go home with him, and his warm voice was enthusiastic. "Well I'll teach you!"

Reminding herself to be polite, Sansa flashed a bland smile at Troy as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. There was something about him...though she couldn't quite put her finger on it...that reminded her of Joffrey. Troy wasn't mean, or vulgar like Joffrey had been. Maybe it was just his overconfident, presumptuous attitude.

Apparently wanting to keep the conversation going, Troy peppered Sansa with questions. He wanted to know about her new job, her life back in Georgia, her favorite food, whether she was a dog lover or a cat lover, her favorite movie. After hearing and responding to her answers, Troy would offer Sansa his own answer to the same question he had just asked, even though Sansa hadn't inquired. It seemed to Sansa that Troy was trying to get her on the fast track to a relationship.

"You're going to love living this close to the river." Troy insisted.

"I'm sure I will."

"You'll have to come over one night for dinner. I can make my famous oven roasted rack of lamb. From my rooftop terrace, you can see the barges comin' by on the river. It's a really neat sight to see."

 _This guy just doesn't stop._ If she hadn't known any better, Sansa would have thought Troy was one of the rich big-shots she usually encountered back home. Always bragging about the things they had, and what they could provide for a woman.

"We can go out on my pontoon boat sometime." He extended one hand out to Sansa and lightly cupped her elbow.

"Oh, yeah. Maybe." Sansa commented. She hadn't meant for her voice to sound so lackluster, or for her smile to be so dull, but she just couldn't help it.

Though Troy was extremely good looking and seemed nice enough, Sansa couldn't ignore the fact that she felt absolutely no spark when they interacted. The very first time she had ever met Sandor, she felt an immediate attraction to him and her body had reacted deliciously in response. When Troy had put his hand on her back to take her outside, and when he had touched her elbow, she had felt nothing. No butterflies or searing heat from where his hand met her body.

 _Dang I have got to think of something. Some excuse to get away from him._ "I need to visit the ladies room." Sansa said abruptly. She didn't want to be rude, so she added, "I'll see you back inside." Hopefully the vagueness of her declaration would give her an excuse to go back to Sandor.

Quickly, she located the ladies restroom and relieved herself. After she washed and dried her hands, she ran them through her long, loose curls a few times. The sad look she had seen on Sandor's face when she had gone outside with Troy gave her a twinge of guilt. Sandor seemed relatively shy, and she reminded herself that Margaery had told her that he was a bit awkward when it came to women. _He's probably not going to be very forward with you, Sansa. You've got to make him feel wanted._ Deciding she would rather take awkward over cocky any day, Sansa fluffed her hair once more and left the restroom in a strut. Her twinge of guilt turned into uneasiness when she rounded the corner and glanced at where the pool tables were and didn't see Sandor. Troy was there, and he smiled and gave her a small wave. But she didn't want him, she wanted Sandor. But he was nowhere to be found. _Oh no, surely he didn't leave..._ With growing apprehension, Sansa's head whipped around, looking for the tall man in the cowboy hat. Finally, she spotted him at the end of the bar, sitting by himself.

When she was close enough, Sansa laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Hey Sandor," she said softly as she pulled herself onto the stool next to him. As she sat, she let her hand glide along the hard packed muscle of his shoulder and down his equally well muscled arm.

Sandor jumped a bit when he felt her small hand touch his shoulder. Having grown tired of playing pool and not wanting to see the smug look on Troy's face when he and Sansa came back inside, Sandor had made his way to the bar to sit alone and admit defeat. It was something was used to, being pushed aside by a woman for a man who was charming and nice to look at. Not awkward and scarred like he was. Sandor definitely hadn't expected Sansa to return to him once she had gotten a good look at Troy. He had ordered a beer this time around, and had been nursing it idly. "Hey there."

An awkward minute passed between them before Sandor cleared his throat and turned his head towards her to speak again. "Where's Troy?" There was no animosity or sarcasm in his voice that Sansa could sense. Just a hint of discouragement.

She looked him in the eye and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." She tore her eyes away from him as her fingers nervously fidgeted with a coaster that was laid out on the bar. "Don't care." She added, letting her eyes find Sandor's again. The gaze he returned was so intense it set a flame ablaze inside Sansa's stomach that was quickly spreading to her limbs. "Why are you asking?"

With a small smirk, Sandor tipped his beer towards his lips for a gulp. "Just wondering. I bet he's quite taken with you."

Sansa pulled back slightly with a scoff and rolled her eyes. The corners of her open mouth were curved up into a smile though. "Oh c'mon Sandor. Don't be like that!"

Sandor laughed a little and let his head hang for a second before raising it back up to respond. "I'm sorry. I...I guess I...just got... _fuck it,_ I got a little jealous is all." He finished his confession with a huff and downed some more of his beer. He could feel his cheeks blooming red from embarrassment.

"Well I can assure you...there's nothing to be jealous of. Troy seems nice enough, but there's one big problem with him."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"He's not you..."

 _Holy. Shit._ There it was. There was the only thing Sandor needed to hear from her. _It's now or never..._

Feeling what little confidence he had left return, Sandor slowly turned his body towards Sansa on the barstool. His knee brushed against hers and he was just about to apologize when he felt her hand come down to rest gently on it. The breath caught in his throat for a beat when he felt her sharp little fingernails curl lightly into the fabric of his jeans. Hesitantly, he reached a hand to her face and let it rest along the curve of her jaw. He let his thumb pass over her cheek once before closing the distance between them slightly. As Sansa closed her eyes and leaned her face into his touch, Sandor's heart thundered loudly in his chest. "Sansa, I..."

Before Sandor could say or do anything else, a loud, male voice filled the air. "Clegane! You old dog, there you are!" _Of all the damn times..._

Bronn had approached them from the side, and slapped his hands on Sandor's shoulders, apparently oblivious to the magic moment he had just ruined.

"Shit, _Bronn._.." Sandor hissed at his friend. If looks could kill, Bronn would have been dead on the floor. Bronn glanced between Sandor and Sansa and raised his eyebrows at the pair. "Bronn, this is Sansa. Sansa, this is my friend and business partner, Bronn."

Bronn took Sansa's outstretched hand and kissed it lightly on the knuckles. "So happy to meet you, darlin." Sandor groaned inwardly at his charming friend. _I'll have to remember that move next time_. Bronn had never had a problem with confidence, especially when it came to women.

"Likewise! So you're Margaery's boyfriend?"

Grinning ear to ear, Bronn nodded his head and puffed his chest slightly. "That's me! Margie has had nothin but good things to say about you, Sansa." Bronn raised his eyebrows enthusiastically at Sansa and quickly added, "and so has Sandor!" The addition of his last comment earned him a swift kick to the shin that Sansa couldn't help but giggle at. "AH! Yeah, uh...good things from all."

Still laughing from Sandor's less than subtle method of shutting Bronn up, Sansa tried to quickly remedy the situation. "Well I _love_ Margaery! I hope we become very good friends."

Bronn grinned appreciatively at Sansa and nodded. "Me too. Speakin' of which...I better go find my Margaery. I'll see y'all later." Bronn left Sandor with a wink.

"So that's Bronn, huh?" Sansa asked, also slightly irritated that their _almost kiss_ had been ruined.

"That's Bronn." Sandor replied dryly. Intrigued by Sansa's previous statement, he decided to probe a little further. "So um...back to what you said a minute ago. You said Troy wasn't me. What did you mean by that?"

With a shy smile, Sansa finished the rest of her beer. This time, Sandor wasted no time ordering her another. "Well...I don't want to get to know Troy better. I want to get to know _you_ better."

"Well then, by all means...ask me anything."

They spent the next two and a half hours doing nothing but talking and laughing as they asked each other question after question. Wanting to keep the atmosphere between them light and comfortable, Sansa purposely avoided questions about family and past relationships. She wasn't sure she was ready to reveal hers to Sandor yet. But Sansa learned that Sandor graduated magna cum laude from Ole Miss, a feat which he was humbly proud of, especially since he had been a student athlete. Sansa told him about getting her master's degree and hinted that she was considering continuing and getting a specialist degree. They both preferred Netflix to live television, but would rather relax with a good book from time to time. Sansa didn't peg Sandor for much of a reader, remembering his reason for liking math so much. She couldn't help but raise an impressed eyebrow when Sandor revealed that his favorite books were _Hamlet_ and _Frankenstein._ Sansa sheepishly admitted that she loved nothing more than reading trashy harlequin romance novels. Especially the ones with women in flowing dresses who are clutching onto bare chested men with wild hair on the covers. She hid her pink face behind her hand when Sandor laughed out loud at her description of the latest book she was reading.

They even talked about food preferences. Sansa preferred smooth peanut butter while Sandor liked crunchy. Sansa cut her spaghetti while Sandor was a twirler. She learned that his favorite food was steak, no surprise there, being a beef farmer, and Sandor learned that hers was lemon chicken. Anything with lemon, really, as she had said thoughtfully. Sandor made a mental note to remember that for the future.

"Just as long as I don't ever catch you putting ketchup on a steak...we'll get along just fine." Sandor had teased. "Hey I've got a really good question for you."

Sansa took a swig of her beer. "Ok, let's hear this _really good question."_

"True or false..." Sandor began. Sansa raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "If men have to put the toilet seat up to pee, then women should be ok with putting it back down to pee."

 _"That's_ your really good question?!" Sansa threw her head back for a hearty laugh. "What the hell?! That has got to be the most random question anyone has ever asked me."

Sandor joined her laughter, but urged her to answer. "Come on, just answer me!"

With an adorable huff, Sansa rolled her eyes. _"Fine._ True."

Amused at her answer, Sandor nodded his head in approval. "I think that answer deserves another beer." He froze when he felt Sansa's hand on his arm.

"Wait, before we get another drink, I have a question for you."

"Alright."

"Will you dance with me?"

And just like that, Sandor's mind and body went completely numb. The budding confidence he was slowly getting from feeling more comfortable around Sansa vanished as he pictured himself stepping all over her feet. He couldn't even remember the last time he danced with a woman. Or by himself, for that matter. Maybe once or twice at a high school party where there was beer involved. But never in his grown-up life and especially never with a woman as beautiful as Sansa. "I don't dance." _Of course she would poke her damn bottom lip out and pout. If she's not careful, she's going to wind up with that lip in my mouth..._

"Oh please, Sandor? Please, please, _pleeaassee?!"_ Sansa was already up from her barstool, tugging at his hand. "Come on. It's a _slow_ song."

Sandor looked down to see her delicate, smooth fingers hand around three of his thick, rough fingers. He knew he was definitely done for. Sansa could have just asked him to go climb the county water tower and he would have done it. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, he quickly realized. "Oh all right." He conceded and rose from his stool to lead her to the dance floor. The band was playing their rendition of _Lonestar's_ "Amazed." A song that seemed to perfectly fit how Sandor felt about Sansa. With his arm on her back and hers resting on his shoulder, he held her other hand out to the side and they slowly turned around the dance floor. As he looked down into her big, blue eyes, Sandor wanted desperately to kiss her. But he was so nervous, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to make his legs and lips work simultaneously, so instead he raised his hand that held Sansa's and kissed it once he draped it around his neck. He brought his other hand down to encircle her waist and pulled her closer. Sansa melted into his body and pressed her cheek to his chest. He could feel his heart skip a beat when her face made contact. Even though kissing her had been on his mind all night, Sandor decided that he didn't want for their first kiss to be in the middle of some podunk bar, with everyone watching. He wanted their first kiss to be something special. Something that Sansa would look back on and think fondly of, should they ever get to that point. As he nervously glanced around, he realized that many people were watching them. Sandor had frequented The Rivershack with his friends and the regular crowd was no doubt shocked to see him on the dance floor, let alone with a gorgeous woman in his arms. Troy was still in the corner playing pool with Pod and Gendry. The smug look on his face had been replaced with one of pure annoyance. Sandor had never been one to gloat, or to rub anything in someone's face. He usually was not the envy of _anyone._ But if he had been a gloater, then would have been the time for him to raise his middle finger up at Troy. Instead, Sandor slid one hand up Sansa's back and threaded his fingers through her silky hair as he laid a kiss on the top of her head.

Margaery had drug Bronn out onto the dance floor as well. He caught Sandor's eye and circled his index finger around to his thumb and held the other three fingers out straight and shot Sandor a 'well done' smile.

The song was over far too quickly for Sansa. The affection she felt for Sandor grew with every turn they made, every gentle caress of his hand on her body, and with the kisses he placed on her hand and the top of her head. She allowed herself to wonder what would have happened at the bar if they hadn't been interrupted by Bronn. The growing anticipation of their first kiss was overwhelming and Sansa was just about ready to take things into her own hands. But her mind screamed at her, once again, to not let things get too far. Sansa truly didn't feel like she was ready for another relationship. _So what am I doing out here, wrapped in his arms?_ She only hoped that Sandor might want to take things slow, and keep it casual without putting a label on anything just yet. When the song ended, Sandor looked down at her the same second she tore her cheek away from his chest to gaze up at him.

"No more dancing for me, I hope."

Sansa giggled and looked away. "You're in luck. These boots are starting to hurt my toe a bit." They returned to their seats at the bar. Sansa sat facing the dance floor with her elbows propped on the edge of the bar behind her. Margaery and Bronn were two-stepping around the dance floor to a lively song. Bronn was quite an accomplished dancer. She watched them step and stroll around the floor, arms around each other's waists, only to engage in elaborate twists and turns. "I'd like to learn to dance like _that."_ Sansa commented to Sandor as she gestured to the couple on the floor.

"Is that so?"

Insistently, Sansa nodded her head and beamed at Sandor. There was something about Sansa that he couldn't say no to. He felt a sneaky suspicion growing in his mind that he would soon be reluctantly asking Bronn to teach him how to dance. Oh the torment and teasing he would surely endure if it came to that. _Anything for her..._

After a length of time, an exhausted Margaery and Bronn came to say goodnight to Sansa and Sandor.

"Well, we're going to take off." Margaery said. "Sansa, do you need for us to give you a ride home?"

Sansa glanced at Sandor and mentally begged him to take her home. The way she looked up at him through her thick lashes made Sandor's breath hitch in his throat.

"I could drive you home, Sansa. If you want me to." Sandor added bashfully.

"That would be great, Sandor." Sansa replied with a sweet smile.

An effective goodnight kiss was still all Sandor could think about on the short drive back to Sansa's apartment. He was also dying to ask her on a date. Figuring he would tackle that obstacle first, maybe the other would follow naturally. "Hey what are you doing tomorrow evening?"

"No plans. Yet."

In front of the coffee shop, Sandor turned the ignition off. He didn't want to leave his truck running and have Sansa think he was trying to hurry her out. The engine shook as it died down. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. "Well would you...I mean, do you want to...maybe...go out on a date with me?"

Hearing Sandor ask her out brought the biggest, most genuine smile to her face. "Yes! I would _love_ to."

After almost fainting with relief, realization hit Sandor like a ton of bricks. "Oh _shit!_ Fuck, I forgot...tomorrow night is the auction at the stockyards. We've got about ten heifers I'm supposed to take up there. Damn I forgot all about it."

"That's fine, Sandor-"

"No, no I'll see if Ray can handle it by himself. It's not a big deal, I'm sure Bronn will be able to go with-"

Sansa's hand on his arm swiftly cut him off. "No Sandor, what I meant was...I'll go with you to the auction. If that's ok, I mean. I've never been to an auction, it seems like it would be interesting."

A dirty, loud, livestock auction was _not_ what Sandor had planned for a first date. He would have to make it up to her later for sure. But the few women in the area he had been on dates with hadn't shown any real interest in his business, and it floored him to think Sansa actually wanted to go. "Are you sure?"

"Well yeah, why not?! What time should I be ready?"

Hearing Sansa's insistence made him laugh. "Ok then. Well that depends on whether or not you want to watch us sort and load the cows up. The auction doesn't start until about seven, but we need to start loading them up a round five or so."

"I can be at your house by five..."

Sandor shook his head. "Nah, I'll come and get you."

As Sansa worried her bottom lip with her top teeth, she fidgeted with a lock of her hair. "Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow. Thank you so much for the ride." She smiled sweetly before reaching for the door handle.

Watching his opportunity to kiss Sansa goodnight slip away, Sandor practically lunged across the center console to stop Sansa from opening the door. "Wait..." He caught her hand and pulled her gently back to him. Silently cursing the console between them, he leaned into her and took her face in his hand. A small gasp escaped Sansa's lips as Sandor closed the proximity between them. His eyes darted back and forth between her eyes and her lips. As if he were moving in slow motion, Sandor slowly pulled himself closer to Sansa. He paused to push his hat up slightly on his forehead so it wouldn't poke Sansa. It was his first kiss in three years, and kissing Sansa was everything he had hoped it would be. No, it was more. So much more. The second he pressed his lips to Sansa's, a floodgate of emotion surged through his body. He was so far gone with this woman, he had no idea how he would ever be able to pull himself out, should things not go the way he wanted them to. The kiss started chaste. He kissed her once, then twice, and pulled back slightly to gauge the reaction on Sansa's face. After their eyes met briefly, an invisible force seemed to pull them towards each other again. This time, the kiss was a product of all the tension and urgency that had been building between them. Wanting to deepen the kiss, Sandor brushed his tongue hesitantly along Sansa's lower lip. Immediately, she opened her mouth and allowed Sandor's tongue access to explore and taste her. By then, her arms were locked around Sandor, groping anywhere her hands would land, struggling to gain purchase on his body as her mind whirled. Frustrated at the center console in his truck and how it was putting unwanted distance between them, Sandor clumsily lifted it up and pushed it back flush between the front seats with his elbows. Seeing that as her opportunity to get closer to the man she was so attracted to, Sansa edged her way closer and was soon straddling Sandor's lap. Their lips hadn't missed a beat during the change of position.

_Oh God, this is really happening..._

Sandor thought desperately as he slid his hands down her back. In response to Sansa's crotch being so dangerously close to his own, Sandor's dick was now straining against the fabric just below her panties. The thought made him groan into Sansa's mouth. Lower and lower his hands slid until he was touching and stroking the soft skin of her thighs that were on either side of his.

With his bottom lip in her mouth, Sansa slowly sank down lower onto Sandor's lap to feel the bulge that had been created in response to their steamy kissing. His breath seemed to falter as she rocked herself slowly across the hardness that was hidden inside his jeans. She could feel the wetness starting to seep through her panties that was surely beginning to saturate his jeans as well. Never in her life had she been so turned on. She wanted more.

A tightness appeared in Sandor's chest as he felt the urgency of Sansa's movements. _Oh no, please not here...not now!_ It had been months since Sandor had had an asthma attack. With proper medication and keeping himself in shape, he had been able to keep his asthma in check in his adult years, not having to use his inhaler as often as he had when he was a young kid, even while he was playing football. Trying desperately to regain control of his breathing, Sandor drew in long, shaky breaths through his nose as he continued to kiss Sansa with all the confidence he could gather. The hem of Sansa's dress had been rucked up slightly, and Sandor couldn't help up glide his hands along the expanse of skin to where he felt the lace of her panties with his thumbs. Sandor knew one of a few things was about to happen. He could put a halt to their kiss that was threatening to melt the ceiling of his truck, promising to Sansa that they would act on their feelings again in a much more desirable location. Like his bed, once they had been on a few dates. Another more unlikely scenario was that Sansa would invite Sandor to come upstairs. If that happened, he knew he needed to say no, as much as he did not want to. As he desperately scrambled to make his brain work while keeping his tongue gently moving in her mouth, he could hear Sansa's soft whimpers escape her throat as she rolled her pelvis along his painfully hard shaft. The most probable and most embarrassing scenario that would happen should he not stop their ministrations was that he would cum right there inside his jeans and ruin everything, which he was dangerously close to doing. No doubt he present encounter would be wrecked, as well any future encounters, for Sansa would surely be reluctant to agree to see him again after that happened. A few more well placed rocks of her hips and moans from her mouth would send him unintentionally spiraling over the edge. Tiny nimble fingers had found their way to his belt buckle and were tugging at it insistently. Nearing the point of no return, Sandor's eyes flew open and he reluctantly stopped her hands with his.

"Sansa, wait." His strangled voice managed to say as she pulled away with a concerned look etched onto her face.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Absolutely _nothing_ is wrong, I can promise you that. I'm loving this, I love kissing you. But if we don't stop..." he almost choked on the last word. Stopping was definitely something he did not want to do. But Sandor wasn't the type of man anymore to just have sex with a woman on their first outing. Sansa deserved better than that. "If we don't slow down, I'm afraid something might happen that probably shouldn't happen until later. I don't want for you to think that _this_...the physical stuff... is all that I'm after."

As she leaned back onto the steering wheel, Sansa pressed her lips into a thin line. She removed her hands from his belt buckle and pressed them to his chest. Inside, his heart was beating so violently, he was sure Sansa would be able to hear and feel it. At that point in time, Sandor would have given anything to be able to read her thoughts.

With a heavy sigh, Sandor reached a hand up to run through her silky hair, savoring the way it slipped through his fingers. He brought it up again to cup her cheek. "I want to do this the right way. I want to take you out on dates, and...be with you in all the ways that I can. Hell you already know I want to sleep with you..." Sandor let a low chuckle escape his lips and was relieved when Sansa joined his laughter. "And I do, don't get me wrong. Just not _here, tonight,_ in the front seat of my truck. You see, I already adore you. And I hope that one day I'll be able to call you my own, and show you just how much you mean to me." For a few seconds, Sandor closed his eyes and pulled in a steadying breath. "How much you _already_ mean to me..." With slightly trembling hands, Sandor pulled her face to his so he could lay a sweet, gentle kiss on her lips. "If we don't stop, I'm going to want to do all sorts of things to you that I don't want for you to regret later. Seeing as how you haven't known me that long and all."

It had been a very long time since Sansa hadn't been the one to put a halt to heated situations that were soon to get out of hand. Usually, she had been the one to insist things should stop. But she couldn't help herself with Sandor, and was suddenly glad that he had the sense enough to stop before things escalated out of control. She couldn't believe how close she had let herself get to taking his dick out right there in the front seat of his truck to wantonly temper the sting of her sexual desire. Slowly, Sansa nodded her head. _Sandor's right. He's right...shit how stupid of me! I don't even know if a relationship is what I want with him! Oh but I do...do I?!_ "You're right, Sandor. I'm sorry...I shouldn't..." Sansa banged her knee against the steering wheel as she moved off of him back to her own seat.

Sensing her discomfort, Sandor brought her back to his side with an arm around her waist. "Hey...no, don't be sorry. I wanted to kiss you. I want to be with you that way. You did nothing wrong." _Shit will I ever get less awkward at this?!_ "Like I said a minute ago, I just don't want for you to regret any of what we do together."

Still battling her unsorted feelings, Sansa didn't want to give Sandor a false sense of hope. So she just sweetly smiled at him and nodded her head.

Never having been in love, Sandor didn't know exactly what it felt like. But the feelings he had once harbored for other women he had been with paled in comparison to the way he felt about Sansa. Every feeling he had for her was so intense and foreign to him. But in a different and exciting, albeit a little scary sort of way. As he watched the light in Sansa's apartment switch on, Sandor put his truck into gear and pulled away. The aching sensation he felt in his heart from missing her already told him everything he needed to know. He was falling in love with Sansa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here's the deal......from here on out, updates might be a little less predictable. I know I know...I'm sorry :((( But school is getting ready to start back soon and my classroom is nowhere near ready (back to the real world). I am still going to try to update once a week or every other week. I know that sucks, BUT I would much rather spend longer working on a chapter and have it exactly the way I want it rather than speeding through the writing process to make sure I am getting two chapters ready for each week. I guess in this case I am embracing quality over frequency. Anyway, I hope y'all understand and if I don't update for a week or two, PLEASE be patient with me...I will NEVER abandon this story because I love it way too much! And love y'all! Have a fantastic week! :)))


	7. In My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!! Thank you so much for being patient with me, I really appreciate it! I have been working on this chapter for several days now and I think it's just about where I want it to be. I'm not sure when my next update will be, so please continue to indulge me with your patience. I WILL update...eventually. I could never abandon this story that I love so much! Getting ready for the new school year is a slow-going process and sooo time consuming! And of course, my grad school classes are still taking up a considerable amount of time. I just keep telling myself it'll be worth it in the end...and the end is just barely in sight! YAY! Well, I hope y'all enjoy this new chapter! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts and getting some encouragement that the story is being enjoyed. Happy reading! xoxoxo

****

**Sandor: Good morning beautiful.**

Sansa really couldn't remember the last time she had gotten a 'good morning' text that she loved as much as Sandor's. Usually when Joffrey had texted her early in the mornings, it was to remind her to pick up the dry cleaning or something like that. _No, not remind...demand._ Waking up to Sandor's text sent a multitude of emotions surging through her mind. The first emotion was elation. She had never been so happy to have gotten a text from someone at seven AM. The second emotion that soon took over was anxiety. A part of her, that damn rational side of her brain again, knew that she was getting in too deep already. Letting _Sandor_ get in too deep, as well. With some level of guilt, she remembered what Margaery had said last night at the bar, and knew she needed to heed her advice not to lead him on. But since she was feeling the deep affection she had for Sandor, did that mean she was ready for a relationship? Sansa brushed her emotions aside and began to text him back.

**Sansa: Well good morning, handsome! What are you doing up so early?**

**Sandor: I'm feedin cows.**

As if to prove to her that was really what he was doing, Sandor opened his camera on his phone and held it out to take a picture of himself as he sat in his tractor. Feeding cows was a slow going process. The rickety old feed wagon bounced along behind the tractor and the auger arm that dispensed the feed to his livestock was swaying with each bump on the dirt path between the cattle pens. He had his ipod hooked to the radio in the cab that was blaring his rather diversified taste in music. Everything from Hank Williams Jr. to The Last Mr. Bigg to Metallica. Sandor wasn't really a "lemme take a selfie" type of man, but with his hat and aviator sunglasses covering most of his scar, he figured he didn't look so bad.

When Sansa received the picture, she smiled and immediately dared herself to save the picture to her album.

**Sansa: Oh I see. Thanks for the picture :)**

**Sandor: What are you doing? I don't get a picture? :(**

Sansa looked down at her bare body and twisted her mouth to one side. She must have kicked the covers off at some point during the night. When her mother had been alive, she would gently chastise Sansa for her habit of sleeping naked. Catelyn Stark had insisted it was unladylike to sleep ' _in the nude.'_ In an attempt to make herself look halfway presentable after a good night's sleep, Sansa ran her fingers through her hair a few times to smooth out the snarls. She pulled the light yellow sheet on her bed up just high enough to cover her pink nipples which were taut and puckered from the cool air in her bedroom. Holding her phone out above her at arm's length, Sansa gave the camera a slight smirk as she clicked the button. It didn't look raunchy, but Sandor would definitely be able to tell that she was naked. Before she could talk herself out of it, Sansa sent the picture and a text to go with it.

**Sansa: I'm still in bed... ;)**

Sandor got the text before the picture fully loaded. _There's that damn winky face again... Holy shit!_ After nearly steering his 'still financed until 2025' tractor into the ditch, Sandor slammed his foot on the brake and brought it to an abrupt halt so he could get a better look at the picture Sansa had sent him. Behind him, the wheels on the feed wagon groaned as it came to a stop. Her fiery red hair was spread out on the pillow that her head rested on, and she had a coy little smile on her lips. There was a considerable amount of her luscious, pale skin on display as well. He longed to be in that bed bext to her, waking up to her smiling face, instead of bouncing along in the tractor. When it came to Sansa, Sandor's dick had a mind all its own. And at that point in time, it was steadily growing to its full, impressive length down the right leg hole. Sandor was immediately thankful that he had put on his looser fitting Cinch jeans instead of his snugger Wranglers that morning. In the privacy of his tractor's cab, Sandor adjusted his jeans to relieve the pressure of the fabric on his manhood.

**Sandor: Well you just made me almost wreck my tractor...**

**Sansa: Now what on Earth would make you do that?**

**Sandor: Oh I don't know...maybe it's the fact that you sent me an almost naked picture of you.**

**Sandor: Not that I'm complaining or anything, you're absolutely beautiful.**

**Sansa: Thank you :) Well you did ask what I was going...and pouted for a picture.**

**Sandor: Ok first of all...I didn't pout. Second of all...I think it's very hot that you sleep naked...**

**Sansa: What makes you think I'm all the way naked?**

**Sandor: Just an educated guess. Am I right?**

**Sansa: Your intuition has served you well this morning...**

A throaty groan rumbled from Sandor's chest. He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the rear windshield just behind him and let his hand pass once roughly down the length of his shaft.

**Sandor: If you could only see what you're doing to me right now...**

For a brief minute before responding, Sansa allowed herself to imagine just what Sandor was insinuating. She was pushing 27, and had been single and had chosen to mingle for most of her adult life, save for the two years she had been with Joffrey. Receiving and sending risqué pictures was something that Sansa was no stranger to. She definitely hadn't sent them freely to any random jerk on Tinder who had asked for them. But if she had become involved in a romantic situation with a man whom she had grown to trust, racy pictures had been exchanged. Just how brave was she feeling?

**Sansa: Well I could see if you would show me...**

_What the hell...did she just...?_ Thinking he had surely misread her text, Sandor blinked his eyes and carefully read it again.

**Sandor: You don't know what you're asking...**

**Sansa: Oh I think I do...**

_Ok, Sansa...you want it, you got it._ With his foot still firmly pressed on the brake, Sandor opened the camera on his phone again, held it up and angled it towards his crotch. In a vain attempt to show off, Sandor pulled the fabric tighter around his thigh to make sure the outline of his dick was clearly visible. It was one of his better assets and by God, he was damn proud of it. _What the fuck am I doing?!_

When Sansa opened the picture Sandor had sent, he mouth fell open as she sat bolt upright in her bed. What she had been sent was...astonishing, to say the least. But Sansa felt this selfish, clawing desire to see more.

**Sansa: It's so...covered.**

_No she didn't..._ Sandor tossed his head back agian and banged it a few times on the rear windshield as a grin crept across his face. Sandor was also no novice when it came to sending and getting racy pictures. Had he grown up in the era of smartphones that could send high quality hd pictures, he would have gotten himself into a lot of trouble.

**Sandor: Ok, now you're getting greedy...**

**Sansa: Not greedy, just...curious :)**

**Sandor: Curious, you say? Well what would I get in return?**

_Playing hardball, huh?_ Sansa bit her bottom lip. _What the hell am I doing? One minute I'm doubting even wanting a relationship with him, the next I'm considering sending him a naked picture!_

**Sansa: I promise you it'll be worth your while ;)**

Before he had even finished reading her text, Sandor was hastily undoing his belt buckle and jeans to release his still rock hard cock. It sprang free and stood tall and straight. Before he opened his camera, Sandor glanced around to make sure Ray wasn't coming up on him on the four wheeler or something. He knew Bronn was also out on the farm somewhere riding his colt before his shift started. Sandor knew he would never live it down if Bronn caught him taking a picture of his dick while sitting in the tractor. Sandor held his phone far enough away to make sure Sansa would get the full effect. The steering wheel gave his thick shaft some scale and Sandor smirked as he took the picture.

Sansa inhaled a gasp when Sandor's picture loaded completely on her phone. Of the male body parts Sansa had seen in her life, this had to be by far the best. It was an impressive specimen, delightfully straight and inconceivably thick. And long. If Sandor ever decided he didn't want to farm or coach football anymore, he would never go broke in the porn industry. She must have spent longer than she realized looking at the picture, because Sandor texted her again.

**Sandor: Well? Please don't tell me you've run away or anything...**

**Sansa: Haha no...just...enjoying the view.**

**Sandor: Oh so you see something you like?**

**Sansa: Oh yea...**

**Sandor: I was just joking earlier by the way. You do not have to send me anything just because I did.**

Sansa appreciated Sandor saying he didn't expect a picture in return. But she had already thrown back the covers and was composing a picture from the waist up. She sat up in bed and bunched the covers around her hips to hide what was below and held her phone out. Using her upper arms to press her breasts together for a hint of cleavage, Sansa smiled shyly at the screen as she captured the picture. One click later, the picture was on its way to Sandor.

During the time that Sansa was taking to get a picture of herself, Sandor had continued down the dirt path fo finish filling the feeders. He had tucked himself back into his jeans, which was no easy task since his dick was still rigid. A renewed rush of arousal washed over him when he got Sansa's picture, and he once again brought his tractor to a screeching halt. Sandor was a self proclaimed boobs man. And as many red blooded, heterosexual males would do, he had appreciated the way they looked in person and on a computer screen. But Sansa's... _holy fuck._ Hers put all the others he had ever seen to shame. And he had seen _a lot_ of boobs in his life.

**Sandor: Wow. Just...wow. You are so sexy. There has never been a more gorgeous woman.**

**Sansa: Thank you :) You sure know how to make me blush.**

**Sandor: Well you sure know how to turn me on. Would you hate me if I saved that picture and used it to fulfill my selfish needs later?**

Immediately, Sandor slammed his hand down on the steering wheel in regret of sending that text. He didn't want to straight up tell her he wanted to jerk off to the picture of her tits, but he wanted her to know that he thought about her sexually.

**Sansa: No. Because I'll probably do the same thing with your picture... ;)**

_Well then...there that is._ A smug, satisfied grin appeared on Sandor's lips as he drove on down the bumpy path to finish his rounds. He was still half-hard in his jeans, but he had work to do and satisfying himself would have to wait until later. Thankfully, Sansa steered the conversation away from a sexual nature.

**Sansa: So you're going to pick me up around 5 this evening?**

**Sandor: Yea, if you still want to come.**

**Sansa: Of course! I'd love to see you in action :) What should I wear?**

**Sandor: Jeans would be fine. I wouldn't wear those pretty boots of yours though. You won't be back where there's mud and cow shit, but the rest of the stockyards is fairly dirty. So wear some shoes you won't mind getting a little dirt on. NO FLIP FLOPS!**

**Sansa: Haha! Ok I think I can handle that.**

**Sandor: Well I will see you at 5.**

**Sansa: See you then.**

**Sandor: Have a good day, darlin.**

**Sansa: You too :)**

Before leaving her bed, Sansa reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out her slim, pink vibrator. Ever since she had seen Sandor's picture...hell ever since she had _met_ Sandor, she had been incredibly aroused. It had been far too long since she had given herself an orgasm, and even longer since a man had given her one. Using the picture to spur her wild imagination, she began to slide the vibrating toy along her wet folds. Sansa imagined what it would feel like to have Sandor's exceptionally large tool filling her up, pressing and rubbing her in all the right places. She pictured his hands exploring her body, touching and stroking all the delicate pleasure points that she loved to have touched. In no time at all, she brought herself to a breathy, throbbing release.

After a long, pampering shower, and completing the rest of her morning routine, Sansa texted Margaery.

**Sansa: Hey girl, where can I buy some boots around here?**

**Margaery: Hello! What kind of boots?**

**Sansa: Just regular cowboy boots. Sandor invited me to come to the auction tonight at the stockyards and the only boots I have are fancy fashion boots.**

**Margaery: Stubb's Mercantile girl! It's on the corner of Main Street and Archer Road, across from the courthouse :)**

**Sansa: Thank you!**

**Margaery: Sooo...did anything happen when Sandor took you home last night?!**

**Sansa: Well, if you consider making out like horny teenagers in the front seat of Sandor's truck "anything" ...then yes!**

**Margaery: AHHHHH! No way! OMG that's so exciting!**

**Sansa: Girl...I am feeling things...**

**Margaery: Yea I bet you were feeling some things last night ;)**

**Sansa: Not like that!**

**Sansa: I mean...I did feel sooomething...if you know what I mean. But I am starting to get feelings for him. Starting to feel things I didn't realize I was capable of feeling so soon after a bad breakup...**

**Margaery: Well girl...just take things at a pace you are comfortable with, and be honest with Sandor. He's a patient man. Hell he works with cows and high school teenagers! That takes a lot of patience!**

**Sansa: Haha you're right. He's too good of a man for me to mess this up.**

**Margaery: Well you let me know if you need anything!**

**Sansa: Ok thanks girl, talk to you later!**

After quickly dressing herself and scarfing down a bowl of cereal, Sansa skipped down the stairs into the hot Mississippi sunshine. There was a gap in between the buildings that was wide enough for her car to fit in, and Olenna had given her permission to park it there. There was no possible way for her to get lost if she stuck to the main roads in the tiny town. There were only two of them anyway, Main Street, and Archer Road. They joined together in a sort of T shape, and that was what comprised downtown Paradise Holler. Stubb's Mercantile was easy to find. It was right across from the courthouse, just like Margaery had told her.

It was a charming little general store. Little wasn't really the word for it, though. It was fairly large and sold everything from work clothes and boots to pet supplies and hardware. The store wasn't very busy, and Sansa easily found what she was looking for. The boots she chose were actually very similar to the ones Sandor wore. Only the pair that was soon to be hers was in her size. She slid them on and admired them as she sat on a small bench in the middle of the aisle.

"Sansa?"

When she heard her name, she whirled around. _Oh damn._ Troy, of all people was standing at the head of the aisle she was on.

"Hey Sansa, I thought that was you."

"Hello, Troy. Good to see you again." In the light of day, he still looked just as handsome as he had the night before, illuminated by the neon and string lights in the bar. But just the same as the night before, no butterflies were flapping their wings ferociously at the lining of her stomach when she saw him.

Cautiously, Troy made his was down the aisle towards her. "In the market for some boots?"

Sansa had been in the process of tucking the boots back into the box they came in. She nodded and smiled.

"Tony Lama...nice choice. That's a good brand. They'll last you forever if you take care of them."

_Boy this is awkward..._ Everyone in the small bar had seen her dancing with Sandor, Troy included. The tiniest hint of guilt crept into Sansa's chest as she thought of the way she had just left Troy hanging the night before. No doubt, he had been interested, and now maybe had his pride hurt from the whole situation.

As if Troy had read Sansa's thoughts, he ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "We didn't get a chance to talk much more last night after you went back inside." Not really knowing what to tell him, Sansa shifted her weight unconsciously from one foot to the other and glanced around. Troy kept talking. "So...you and Sandor, huh?"

Empathy shone in Sansa's eyes as she finally made contact with his. "Troy, I'm sorry. I should have told you-"

A laugh from Troy cut her off. "Don't be sorry, Sansa. It's not a big deal. I mean, I'd much rather you be interested in me..." He let his voice fade away as red flooded his cheeks. "But Sandor's a good man. If he treats women the way he does his livestock, he'll be nothing but good to you." Troy laughed feebly at his attempt at a joke. "He's damn lucky too, to have you interested in him."

Sansa laughed nervously and drummed her fingers on the box that her boots were in. She appreciated the flattery from Troy, but it made the situation no less awkward.

"Well, just so you know...if things don't work out with you and Sandor, my offer will still stand." Troy reached out and patted Sansa's arm in an awkward, platonic sort of way. "I'll see ya around."

"Bye Troy. Thanks for understanding." Hastily, Sansa collected her purse from the floor and slung it over her shoulder. Troy had already given her a smile and turned away, heading for a different section of the store. Sansa exhaled a relived sigh as she neared the counter and was thankful that Troy hadn't turned out to be some asshole that was a sore loser. Having multiple men vying for her attention was flattering, but ultimately not something that she wanted.

Back in her apartment, Sansa tried on her new boots again with a pair of jeans. She pulled the cuffs of her jeans over the shaft of the boots and stood up. Smiling at her reflection in the mirror, Sansa executed an excited twirl and giggled. She took off her boots and jeans and shimmied back into her running shorts she had been wearing earlier. With a frown, she glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was only 10:00. _What the hell am I going to do with the rest of my day?_ All of her boxes were already unpacked and her tiny apartment was nearly spotless. With a huff, Sansa collapsed onto her couch and crossed her arms. Free time was something that had been in abundance when she had been with Joffrey. He always found some excuse to leave her alone in their loft late at night or at random intervals during the day when they weren't at work. Then, Sansa had spent her time baking. Although her delicacies were gone unappreciated by Joffrey, claiming he didn't have much of a sweet tooth. _Maybe Sandor has a sweet tooth,_ Sansa thought. With renewed spirit, Sansa leapt from the couch and bounded into the kitchen. _I'll bake Sandor a pie._ _Everyone likes pie..._ Of course she didn't have any of the ingredients she needed for a pie, so she would have to make another visit to The Market. Since she didn't know type of pie was Sandor's favorite, Sansa decided to make one of her go-to favorite buttermilk pie. It was her Nana Stark's recipe, and she knew it by heart. After quickly jotting down the ingredients she needed, Sansa made her way to The Market.

Thankfully, it wasn't very busy and she was able to get in and out without running into anything this time. Baskets and large men included. She quickly gathered the items she needed and made her way back to her apartment. Being able to make home made pie crust from scratch was something Sansa prided herself in. She always got compliments on it and was usually asked to share her recipe. After churning together the flour, butter, shortening and water in her yellow KitchenAid mixer, Sansa gathered the dough and wrapped it in saran wrap to chill in the refrigerator. It had to chill for at least an hour, preferably two, so that left Sansa with nothing to do for another stint of time.

She flopped on the couch again and idly scrolled through her Facebook app. The realization that she hadn't yet searched for Sandor on Facebook hit her and she typed his name in the search bar. Sandor Clegane wasn't a very common name, and she found him without any trouble and quickly added him as a friend. To Sansa's surprise, the friend request was accepted almost immediately. _He must be taking a break from work or something._ Sandor's profile picture was of him perched on top of a big black horse, coiled rope on hand. She assumed it was the same horse from the rodeo pictures she had found in his office. Only this picture looked like it had been taken on his farm, because she saw the red barn in the background she had seen behind his house the night he took her home for coffee. Making herself comfortable on her couch, Sansa navigated to the rest of Sandor's pictures. There weren't very many of himself that he had uploaded, just views of the farm, groups of cattle bunched together, and a few of that same large bull Sansa had seen framed in his office. There were tons of tagged pictures of him though. _2,478 tagged pictures of Sandor Clegane? Don't mind if I do!_ Sansa swiped through picture after picture of Sandor. Most were of him on the sidelines of the football field, or gathered next to his players after a game. There were some taken by Bronn, that were of Sandor around the farm. Before she knew it, Sansa had swiped herself all the way back to 2016. On June 11th of that year, a young woman named Sammie Sue Jones had taken a selfie of her and Sandor as she sat on his lap. She recognized the walls of The Rivershack behind them. A wide smile crossed Sammie Sue's face as Sandor, in what looked like the same cowboy hat that he had worn the night before, closed his eyes and nuzzled his nose into her hair without looking at the camera. His arms were locked around her and a small smile was on his lips. Sansa scrunched her nose and recalled what Margaery had told her at the bar. _This must be the woman that 'shit on his heart.'_ With that thought fresh in her mind, Sansa immediately decided she disliked this woman, and felt another unreasonable twinge of jealousy. There were a few other pictures of them together, including one where the woman sat behind Sandor on the same black horse, this time with no saddle, with her arms tight around his waist. They were laughing at one another in the picture, and looked happy. _Oh well,_ Sansa sighed to herself. _No sense in getting worked up about an ex. Everyone has them, including me._

After a leisurely nap that lasted longer than she intended it to, Sansa took the pie dough out of the refrigerator, rolled it into a sheet and pressed it into her prettiest flowered Pioneer Woman pie dish. It didn't take her long to mix the filling together and it was in the oven in no time. It was 3:15 and knew she needed to start thinking about getting so she wouldn't keep Sandor waiting. After setting the timer for her pie, Sansa went to her vanity in the bathroom and put on a light coat of makeup and expertly applied winged eyeliner and a few coats of mascara. She pulled her hair free from the elastic that held it and fluffed it a few times before running her straightener over it to rid her hair of the crease form the elastic. By the time she was done curling her hair with her curling wand, it was 4:05 and her pie was ready. While it cooled, Sansa dressed herself in jeans and her new boots and put on a plain, emerald green tank top that hugged her curves, but wasn't too tight. All she could think about while she was getting herself ready was the feeling of Sandor's lips on hers the night before. She closed her eyes as she remembered how his rough hands had felt against her smooth skin. As Sansa counted down the minutes until Sandor arrived, she wondered if he would kiss her again tonight. The thought only excited her more and she sat impatiently jiggling her legs as they hung off the couch. At 4:47, her phone alerted her to an incoming text. She lunged for it and saw it was from Sandor.

**Sandor: Hey, I'm fixin to head your way. You ready to go?**

**Sansa: Yes I am! I'll be watching for you out the window.**

**Sandor: Ok, see you in a few minutes.**

Sansa didn't reply, but instead went to the kitchen to wrap the pie dish in tin foil. Another text came through as she was putting the foil back into the drawer.

**Sandor: I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day...**

When Sansa read his text, her heart soared. Not realizing what she was doing, she clutched her phone to her chest and breathed out a sigh.

Sandor knew he would never be able to tell Sansa about his constant thoughts about her in person, so he had chosen to tell her through a text message. Not the most suave move, he knew, and even though he was starting to feel a bit more comfortable around Sansa, he still got as nervous as a sixteen year old on his first date when it came to actually telling Sansa how he felt.

**Sansa: I've been thinking about you all day too :) Especially last night in your truck.**

**Sandor: Well there's more where that came from.**

It wasn't but a few seconds after Sandor had pulled up in front of the coffee shop that he saw Sansa bound down the steps of the building. The simple green tank top she wore contrasted beautifully with her pale skin and her fiery red hair. Her jeans fit around her in the most perfect way that made Sandor want to see if he could fit a hand between the fabric and the flesh of her ass. He reached across the front seat and opened the passenger door for her to climb in. Once inside with the door shut, Sansa put whatever she was carrying on the dashboard and reached for him. What started as a hug, turned into a passionate kiss when she pulled away from his shoulder where she had buried her face during the embrace to find his lips.

Reminding herself not to get out of hand, Sansa ended the tangle of tongues and lips with one last chaste kiss. "Hello."

"That was by far my favorite _hello_ from anyone. Ever."

With a giggle, Sansa reached up and took the pie dish and set it in her lap as they drove.

"What's that?" Asked Sandor, nodding his head towards the dish in her lap.

With a sheepish smile, Sansa replied, "I made a pie."

"No shit? A pie for me?!" An incredulous grin appeared on Sandor's lips as he reached a hand over to peel back a bit of the foil. He drew it back after Sansa lightly slapped it away. "What kind?"

"Buttermilk."

"Mmmm...that sounds good. I'll definitely enjoy that later on." He teased.

"Well now wait a minute...I'll get to enjoy it too! You can't possibly eat the whole thing by yourself!"

A deep laugh rolled from Sandor's chest as he turned down his driveway. "I bet if I tried real hard I could. You haven't seen the way I eat yet..." Sandor put his truck in park in front of his house. Familiarity and comfort returning to him, he reached over and patted Sansa's thigh. "Why don't you run this pie inside and then we'll go hook the stock trailer up."

As Sansa climbed the steps to his porch, Sandor admired the way her ass filled out her jeans. As she stepped back down the stairs after emerging though the front door, he noticed her new footwear.

"New boots?" He asked as she climbed back into the passenger's seat.

"Yes, I got them from Stubb's Mercantile!" Sansa held a foot up for Sandor to admire. "Do you like them?"

Sandor smiled appreciatively and nodded. "Yes I do. I like _anything_ that you wear." _I would especially like you wearing nothing,_ he added silently.

It was then that Sansa noticed the large brace Sandor had on his left knee over his jeans. It was an imposing looking thing, with thick neoprene straps and heavy duty plastic joints. "Is that the leg that you hurt?" _What a stupid question, Sansa, of course that's the leg he hurt!_

"Yeah..." Sandor fidgeted with one of the velcro straps. "I usually only wear it when I'm on my horse or working out." Gloom plagued his face as he continued. "Can't do two of the things I loved the most anymore. Football and rodeo." He paused thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess I could team rope, since that wouldn't involve me jumping off my horse at high speed."

"What did you do before?"

"Tie down roping...calf roping. When you get off to go tie your calf, you step down hard on your left leg."

Understanding what he mean, Sansa nodded her head. She felt bad for Sandor. How horrible it must be to not be able to do the things you love anymore. "Well I'm sure that your experience has only made you a wonderful football coach."

"Hah! Yeah...they say 'those who can't _do, teach.'_ Guess that's me. I've got a few kids around here I give roping lessons to, also." Without realizing he was doing it, Sandor reached for Sansa's hand and brought it to his lips. "Lemme get this trailer hooked up so we can get goin."

Sansa watched form her position in the front seat as Sandor expertly backed his truck up to the long trailer the she assumed his cows would go in. In no time, Sandor had the trailer hooked up and was artfully backing it up so the door was flush with the chute that would usher the cows onto the trailer. Sansa hadn't noticed the spurs jingling on Sandor's boots until he shut the truck off and slid out of the seat. Sansa followed suit and took in her surroundings as her feet touched the ground. They were a ways behind the house, but off to the side, where there were about half a dozen holding pens. One large one held about thirty or forty glossy, black cows whose coats shone in the evening sun. The black horse she recognized from Sandor's pictures was tied to a post outside the pens, saddled and looking ready to work. An older man emerged from the barn, sipping from a bottle of water and began to head their way. A huge smile appeared on his face when he saw Sansa.

"You must be Sansa." The man drawled when he was close enough to extend a hand out to her. "I'm Ray. You have no idea how happy I am to meet you."

Reaching out to shake his hand, Sansa smiled widely and blushed. "Yes, Sansa Stark. So nice to meet you, Ray."

"My you're pretty." Ray turned and winked to Sandor. "She certainly is pretty, son." The older man turned and patted Sandor on the shoulder before entering one of the pens.

"Is Ray your dad?" Sansa asked after hearing him call Sandor _son._

Sandor smiled and chuckled lightly as he shook his head. "No, not exactly. My parents died when I was pretty young. He's been the only consistent father type figure I've ever had though. Even if I've only known him for a few years." He put an arm around Sansa's shoulders and squeezed. "I'll tell you all about it later." After a light kiss that sent delicious shivers creeping down Sansa's spine, Sandor walked to his horse and swung himself up into the saddle after pulling the rein loose that tethered him to the post.

From the top of a railing of a pen that didn't contain any cows, Sansa watched as Ray and Sandor sorted through the cows they would take to the sale. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. From horseback, Sandor would cut off the ones he wanted to keep in the pen while pushing the others towards another pen that Ray opened and closed the gate to. Seeming to know his job very well, Sandor's horse pinned his ears back and stepped towards the cows that needed to be pushed into the other pen. It was an interesting sight to see. Sandor's massive fingers closed delicately around the thin leather of the reins as he skillfully maneuvered his horse amongst the cows. After half an hour or so, Sandor had sorted out the ones they would load on to the trailer. From the back of his horse, he swung a gate open and was soon nudging the animal towards where Sansa was sitting on the rail. Both Sandor and his horse were wet with sweat, but Sansa reached around him for a hug anyway.

"What's your horse's name?"

Giving Sandor an affectionate pat on the neck, Sandor replied, "His name is Stranger."

Sansa reached out to scratch his broad forehead. "He's beautiful." Having never been around horses that much in her life, Sansa was a little nervous with his head being so close. She knew they didn't have teeth like dogs did, but they were known to bite from time to time. But she knew Sandor wouldn't have gotten him so close to her if he was a biter. "Hey Stranger."

In response to getting scratches, Stranger swung his head towards Sansa, almost throwing her off balance. He was just about to rub his large, sweaty head on Sansa's jeans when Sandor laughed and pulled him away with his right rein. "Careful. He likes getting scratches so much he'll rub his nasty, sweaty head all over you."

"He seems like a sweet boy."

"Stranger's kinda mellowed out in his older age. He used to be really mean and wouldn't think twice about biting anyone. But I guess now he's gotten over himself." In an act that surprised himself, Sandor kissed the air in Sansa's direction before guiding his horse back towards the cattle that were left in the pen.

From her perch on top of the panel, Sansa watched as Sandor and Ray pushed the remaining cows down a lane that led back out towards one of the open fields behind the barn. When they came back a few minutes later, Sansa joined Sandor and Ray at the entrance to the big, red barn.

After checking the time on his phone, Sandor slid from Stranger's back. He winced as his left leg hit the ground. Riding always made his knee stiff, but it was the easiest way to gather cows. "I'm gonna put Stranger up and go change real quick before we go." Sandor loosened the front cinch of his saddle and let the back one hang loose. Stranger heaved an appreciative sigh and cocked one back hoof up to rest on his toe.

Ray stepped forward and held out a hand to take the horse's reins. "Why don't Sansa and I put him away while you go change?" With a sideways smile, Sandor handed over the reins and turned to give Sansa a kiss on the forehead before heading to the house.

Ray draped an arm across Sansa's shoulders. "Come on, my dear. This way." He led Sansa and Stranger into the alley of the barn and picked up a rope halter.

"So how long have you known Sandor?" Sansa asked as she watched Ray slip the bridle off of Stranger's head and replace it with the halter. Now free of the bit in his mouth, Stranger opened it wide for a yawn and shook his head, tossing his long, black mane about.

"Oh, well now let's see...we've known each other since he moved here about eight years ago. He rented the house I live in now and started to work here on the farm in addition to his teaching job." Ray pulled the heavy saddle from Stranger's back and carried it into the tack room and set it on one of the wooden saddle stands.

"Did you teach him what he knows about cows?"

Ray emerged from the tack room and gathered the lead rope of Stranger's halter and began to lead the sweaty horse to the wash racks for a much needed hose down. "No, his uncle had a cattle farm that he worked on while he lived with them." Sansa stood back as she watched Ray hose the horse off. Stranger seemed to like the cool water spraying on his steamy skin and he curled his lips back and shook his whole body. "Has Sandor not told you about his family?"

"No, not yet."

"Ahh." Ray turned the water off and hung the hose back on its rack. "Well I imagine that would be something _he_ would like to tell you about." He gave Sansa a reassuring wink as he began to scrape the extra water off Stranger's body with what looked like a squeegee to Sansa.

"Is it not a very happy story?"

Heaving a sigh, Ray turned to Sansa. "No, my dear I'm afraid it's not." On the way out of the barn, Ray stopped and left Stranger standing to drip dry in the barn aisle. He motioned for Sansa to follow him into what Sansa discovered was a feed room. After filling three buckets with a scoop of grain each, he dusted his hands off on his jeans and looked at Sansa once more. "If he hasn't told you about his family yet, then I'm sure he hasn't mentioned that he used to be a very angry young man."

"Here, let me get some of those." Sansa said as she reached for two of the buckets. Being very intrigued by Ray's revelations of Sandor, Sansa wanted for him to elaborate, but wasn't quite sure how to ask him to. Luckily, Ray continued speaking as they carried the feed buckets out into the evening sun.

"I'm not talking about just being grumpy on bad day, I mean...mad at the world, miserable cuss to be around." Sansa stood back as Ray opened a gate for Stranger to amble through. He then poured the buckets of feed into three other buckets that hung inside the fence. Two more horses came running from the far side of the field. One was a beautiful palomino color with a nearly white mane and tail. The other was a bright red sorrel with a red mane and tail to match. Stranger pinned his ears at the other two and claimed his bucket with a snort. Sansa was dwelling on Ray's words. So far, Sandor had been nothing but nice and sweet towards Sansa. She couldn't imagine him being mean in any way. "He didn't open up to anyone really, didn't trust anyone. He still doesn't open up very easily, I guess. But he's softened a bit. Nowhere near as mean and angry as he used to be."

"What changed him so much?"

As the horses ate their feed, Ray reached a hand over the top wire of the fence to rub the palomino's forehead. He sighed thoughtfully. "Well, I'd like to think I had some part in that." He chuckled. "I guess I was the closest thing he's ever had to a therapist. Sandor and I used to spend hours talking. Talking about life, his problems, love...the lack of love. We talked a lot about his injury and how it changed his life. At first, he thought it changed him for the worst, but he finally has come to terms with how his life has ended up so far."

They both heard the front door slam and turned in time to see Sandor job down the steps. He had changed into fresh jeans without his brace, a light blue button up shirt and the same cowboy hat he had worn to The Rivershack. "Alright, y'all ready to go?"

The sale barn was set up with a small arena in front of the auctioneer stand. There were rows of seats, each row higher than the one in front of it, like a miniature stadium. Sansa was amazed at the speed of the auctioneer's complicated, tongue twisting speech. While Sandor pushed his cows one at a time through the sale pen, Ray sat with Sansa in the stands to keep her company. Sansa and Ray chatted idly about nothing in particular. They talked about the people Sansa had met so far in Paradise Holler, places she should see while she lived here, and things she should do. She liked Ray immensely and even though she didn't know the extent of it, she was thankful for the impact that he had had on Sandor's life. Once all of Sandor's cows had gone through and had been sold, Sandor joined Sansa and Ray in the stands. Ray went off in search of some old friends he had seen earlier. Sansa had been so involved with her conversation with Ray, she hadn't gotten a chance to ask about how everything at the auction worked.

"So what do the numbers on the cow's sides mean?" On each of the cows that came through the small arena, there were stickers that had two numbers separated by a forward slash.

Happy that Sansa was interested in the ongoings of the auction and was asking him questions, Sandor leaned into her so she could hear him over the auctioneer. "So the number to the left of the slash is her age. The number on the right is the number of months since she's been bred."

"Oh ok, so that cow there..." Sansa squinted her eyes at the cow in the pen. "...she's two years old and is five months pregnant."

Sandor put a hand on Sansa's back to rub up and down. "Correct." He flashed her a smile. "But technically, that out there is a _heifer."_

"What's the difference?"

"Well if she's only two, that means this is her first calf. Usually, they don't have their first calf until that age, and a cow that hasn't had a calf yet is called a heifer. And if there's a zero on the right side of the slash then..." Sandor prompted to see if Sansa had caught on.

To his delight, Sansa answered correctly. "Then that means she's not pregnant?"

"You got it." After pulling Sansa in for a kiss on the forehead, Sandor whispered into her ear. "I'll never get tired of being able to do that..." Sansa smiled at the thought and found herself thinking the same thing. Sandor handed Sansa the card with his bidding number on it. "You wanna bid for me?"

Hesitantly, Sansa took the card and scoffed at him. "How will I know when to bid?"

"I'll let you know when to hold it up."

As the auction progressed, Sandor explained to Sansa what he looked for in a potential cow or heifer. When one came along he was interested in buying, he nudged Sansa to hold the card up. Sansa felt a little silly doing it at first, but she soon got caught up in the excitement as the auctioneer directed the sale of the animals.

"So why are you always selling and buying cows?" She wondered out loud as a cow came through that Sandor didn't want to bid on.

"Well, we have three bulls that we breed to our herd, and we usually keep the heifers that are born from the bulls, and sell the steers. But we've got to keep up with the breeding carefully to avoid inbreeding. We can breed our cows to the same bull several times, but we can't breed their offspring to the one that sired them, so we sell them, or breed them to one of the other bulls. But folks around here are always wanting to buy ones that have been bred to our best bull, so it's a good way to make a little extra money here and there."

"Oh I see." Sansa scooted a bit closer and Sandor's arm wrapped around her waist. "And your best bull...does he have a name?"

"BSR Easy E. He's the one in the picture above my desk in the office."

Sansa smiled at his name. "What do the letters mean?"

"BSR stands for Brother and Sons Ranch. And I added the 'Easy E' in there because he's a pretty laid back bull. Real easy to handle. I call him Easy." Once more, Sandor pulled Sansa closer for him to whisper. "Of course, I'd be pretty easy going too if my only job was to fuck all the time..."

Sansa shuddered in response to the way Sandor's lips brushed across her earlobe. Knowing he better stop before his body started reacting to his thoughts of Sansa, Sandor pulled away with a wink and turned his attention back to the auction.

By the time the auction was over, Sandor had purchased fifteen unbred cows that he would soon breed to Easy. Even though he bought more than he sold, Sandor still made a profit, since his heifers had gone for more than the rest.

After securing his new cows in a large holding pen for the night, Sandor unhooked his trailer and soon found himself once again with Sansa on his front porch with coffee. This time, there was also the pie Sansa had made. It was fairly late, so Ray had gone home, politely declining Sandor's invitation to stay and have a slice of pie. Moses happily greeted Sandor and Sansa at the front door and joined them in the warm night air. He had been very put out that Sandor had left him behind. But it had been too hot to let him stay in the truck during the auction and dogs technically were not allowed inside the livestock arena. The sun had long since gone down, but the porch lights gave off enough of a soft glow to illuminate the area around the rocking chairs they sat in.

" _MMMM_...Damn! This pie is _delicious,_ Sansa!"

Hiding a smirk behind the hand that held her fork, Sansa giggled. "Thank you! So is this your favorite kind? Did I guess well?"

Having quickly finished his slice, Sandor was resorting to licking the remaining crumbs and pie filling from his fork. "Well, as amazing as this is, it's not my _favorite_ kind."

"Oh really?" Sansa began as she set her empty plate on the small table between them. "So what _is_ your favorite?"

"You'll just have to guess." Replied Sandor as he tossed his fork onto the plate next to Sansa's. He shot her a wink. "Try again. Next time, maybe you'll get it right."

Sansa grinned and narrowed her eyes. "Oh ok...I see exactly what you're doin. You just want for me to keep bringing you different kinds until I figure out which is your favorite."

"I will neither agree or disagree with that theory."

Sansa crossed one leg over the other and heaved a content sigh. In her mind, she began making a list of possible pie options that could potentially be Sandor's favorite. _Chocolate, lemon meringue, apple, sweet potato, pecan..._ Sandor's voice jolted her thoughts away from her mental list.

"You asked earlier if Ray was my dad...and I told you I would tell you about it later..." Sandor began. He paused to collect his thoughts. "I was real young, five...maybe six. I don't remember exactly. One night, our house caught on fire. I remember waking up smelling the smoke, being scared to death. Crying. Not knowing what to do. My dad ran into the bedroom I shared with my older brother, Gregor. Only Gregor wasn't in there." Sandor bit his lip and cleared his throat, trying to recall the horrifying night that he had repressed for so long. It wasn't a story he told very often, especially not to people be hadn't known that long. It had been a long time since he had told the story. Years, maybe. But he really wanted to take a chance and open up to Sansa. "My dad snatched me up out of my bed and carried me outside...my brother was already out there, though we didn't know why. He left us in the front yard and went back inside for my mama. I don't know why she hadn't already gotten out. Only..." with a shuddering breath, Sandor paused. "Only they didn't make it out in time."

Tears filled Sansa's eyes as she processed Sandor's words. A hand flew to Sansa's mouth to stifle her gasp. "Oh Sandor, I'm so sorry." She reached over and placed a hand on his knee. With tears stinging behind his eyes, Sandor closed them and kept telling his story.

"I don't really remember my mother. Not very well. She used to sing to me when I was sad or scared. That's really one of my most vivid memories of her. She was very beautiful, I know that. I know all little boys think that their mama is pretty, but she really was. I still have a few old pictures of her that my uncle gave me. That's where we ended up. Gregor and I. My aunt and uncle took us in. They lived close to Oxford, Mississippi, and own a small cattle operation. Nothing as big as this one here, but the same basic concept. It made just enough money to keep us afloat. My aunt and uncle had four kids of their own, so Gregor and I made six. That was a lot of mouths to feed, and a lot of the time, we had to go without something else if it meant keeping us all fed. I stayed in hand me down clothes, shared a bed with my cousin, stuff like that. But my uncle was...is, still is...a good man. He took me to football practice, and taught me how to swing a rope. He used to rodeo and saw that I loved the horses that his neighbor had. His neighbor let my uncle teach me to ride and rope using his old horse. So he made me a deal. He said if I worked hard at it, and showed promise, he would somehow find me a decent horse." Sandor paused to laugh at the memory of his first horse. "So I practiced and practiced, I roped the dummy for hours on end, until my hands bled. My uncle kept his word too. He found this sorry old nag that a buddy of his was selling for cheap. We would pull up to rodeos and ropings in this old beat up truck and shitty trailer. Our rig was the laughing stock at the junior rodeos. Most everyone else had fancy trucks and trailers they brought. But they didn't laugh when I showed 'em all up and left with a fat check. I always saved the money I won to use for my next entry fee, or for my football gear. My uncle never would take any of it that I offered to him, as a thank you. He always insisted that I keep it, because I had earned it. I paid my way wherever I went. I never took it for granted either." For a brief minute, Sandor considered telling Sansa the story of his scars. Yet another reason why he got laughed at whenever he went out in public. But he decided against it.

_He mentioned a brother..._ Sansa thought as Sandor finished his story. "What about your brother, is he still alive?"

A hint of darkness clouded Sandor's eyes as he fidgeted with his fingers in his lap. "That, my darlin...is another story. For another time."

The clipped tone of the words he spoke hinted to Sansa that the topic of his brother was a tense one and she shouldn't push it any further. After a minute, Sandor's voice broke the silence. "So you haven't really mentioned much about your family..."

With a sigh, Sansa looked sadly over at Sandor. "Well, it's not much happier than your story."

"Oh. Well, it's ok, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Sansa shook her head. Since Sandor had opened up and told her about his family, she wanted to do the same. "It was almost three years ago. My parents and my two younger brothers had driven down to Atlanta to meet the man I was dating at the time. We all had dinner together, my older brother, Robb and his wife were there, too. My little sister, Arya wasn't there, though. She's in school abroad. It was late when they left to drive home. I remember mom kissed me goodbye and told me how happy she was that I had finally found someone who was worth settling down with. She liked my ex. He was so charming. That was all complete bullshit though, some to find out." Laughing slightly at the though of how superficial Joffrey had been, Sansa paused. Telling Sandor about her last relationship would help her make Sandor understand why she wasn't ready for another one. She knew she should suck it up and tell him, but she was scared. _One difficult story at a time,_ she decided, and only stuck with the story of how her parents died. "Dad was driving mom's car. The police later said the man in the van fell asleep and sideswiped their car when he woke up and overcorrected. My dad lost control of the car and it spun around. The..." Sansa stopped to pull in a ragged breath. "The semi truck...that was behind them...the driver couldn't stop in time." Tears were beginning to spill from her eyes as she choked on the words. "It ran right into them. Killed them instantly. Mom, dad... _oh God..._ Bran and Rickon. They were so young. Bran was going in college at Vanderbilt...Rickon had just graduated high school." Unable to go on, Sansa dropped her head into her hands and let her tears flow, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

Seeing Sansa cry was something Sandor couldn't bear. His heart ached for her in a way that he was familiar with from his own family situation. He reached across the space between them and eased her hand out from under her face. Gently, he pulled her to him, encouraging her out of her chair and into his. Sansa rose and crossed the few steps to his rocking chair and sank into his lap, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her feet on the arm of the chair. Strong arms circled around her as he began to rock the chair back and forth against the wooden floor of the porch. Sandor tucked her head under his chin and held her close. Comforting someone was something Sandor felt like he was not very good at. Before he could talk himself out of it, Sandor began to sing, low and soft. Since his mother had sang to him as a form of comfort, maybe it would provide Sansa with a bit as well. At first, his voice sounded awkward and foreign to him as he rasped out the lyrics to a song his mother always used to sing to him.

_"There are places I'll remember,_

_all my life, though some have changed,_

_some forever, not for better,_

_some have gone and some remain,_

_all these places have their moments,_

_with lovers and friends, I still can recall,_

_some are dead and some are living,_

_in my life, I've loved them all..."_

Suddenly remembering the next few words of the song, Sandor let his voice fade away. He kept rocking the chair and tightened his grip around her but still kept his fingers gently tracing up and down the length of her upper arm. From within his strong arms, Sansa moved minutely against his chest and smiled. "Don't stop..." she whispered quietly. The rhythmic creak of the rocking chair and Sandor's warm, deep voice were hypnotic.

_"But of all these friends and lovers,_

_there is no one, compares with you,_

_and these memories lose their meaning,_

_when I think of love, as something new,_

_though I know I'll never lose affection,_

_for people and things that went before,_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them,_

_in my life..."_

Once again realizing which words came next, Sandor froze. If he were to continue, he knew it wouldn't be a lie. But Sansa nestled her head deeper into the curve of his neck and breathed a sigh against his skin that elicited goosebumps underneath the stubble of his beard.

_"Keep going..."_ Sansa urged again, her voice barely audible.

Sandor closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Before he continued, he pressed his lips to the top of her head.

_"In my life...I love you more..."_


	8. Time to Think

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YIKES!! It's been way too long...I have neglected this poor story, just like I said I wasn't going to. So sorry! Lots has been going on though...I got engaged to my boyfriend of almost six years on Christmas Eve. We will be getting married this November (just as long as this awful Covid-19 is gone by then)!! Other than that, I FINALLY finished my master's degree...which is a HUGE sigh of relief...only to be replaced with doubts and fears about pursuing my PHD. Anyway, ever since they closed the schools in Mississippi, I have been working on the ranch (it's HAY SEASON right now by the way...also known as allergy season), so I have had a ton of extra time to ponder random thoughts as I bounce along on my tractor. The other day, I reasoned to myself that reading and writing stories like these is my ultimate guilty pleasure...and I had absolutely ZERO excuse to not pick this story back up! I have had lots of time to find a direction for this story.

Monday morning found Sandor in yet another back to school meeting. There was still a lot that he had to accomplish before open house, which would be held from five to seven that evening, and even more he had to do before the first day of school, which was that Wednesday. But he was stuck in the library with the other high school teachers, altering the pacing guide for the curriculum. It annoyed Sandor greatly that he had to attend the meeting, let alone participate, especially since he had no desire to change anything on his pacing guide. But all the other high school teachers were in there dealing with the same mind-numbing meeting, so he figured he would shut up and suck it up too. Sandor hadn't seen Sansa since he took her home Saturday night after the sale. He had driven her home, kissed her goodnight, and hoped like hell that his little pseudo-confession of love had gone unnoticed by her. To her credit, she had not mentioned it. If she had done so, Sandor thought for sure he would have died of embarrassment.

Since it was usually the only day he got to really slow down, Sunday morning had been spent sleeping in, waking up at eight instead of the usual five. Sandor leisurely took care of a few necessary chores around the farm and lifted weights in the makeshift gym in the back of his barn. Bronn had come over Sunday night and together they had finished off Sansa’s buttermilk pie while they talked and had a few beers on the porch. As sarcastic and crass as he was, Bronn usually gave Sandor solid advice when it came to life and relationships. He had been the one to point out to Sandor that there was probably a reason Sansa hadn't disclosed any details of her last relationship with him yet. With that insight, Bronn also told Sandor that might have an effect on her next move with him. It made sense to Sandor, especially since he had gotten the same vibe from her. As elated as Sandor felt about the entire situation, he couldn’t help but feel like Sansa was holding something back. But rather than dwell on it too much, Sandor had simply chalked it up to his own inexperience with relationships and women in general.

Using his laptop screen to shield his hands from Varys, Sandor unlocked his phone to text Sansa.

**Sandor: Hey pretty girl. What are you up to?**

Already knowing that the lower grade teachers were suffering through the same pacing guide and curriculum mapping meeting with Baelish, Sandor wasn't surprised that her response was almost instant.

**Sansa: Hey there! I'm bored to death listening to Mr. Baelish drone on and on...**

**Sandor: I feel ya. I'm doin all I can to stay awake while listening to Varys. You all ready for open house tonight?**

**Sansa: Yes I think so. I finally met Shae, my teacher assistant this morning. I think we're going to work really well together! And I'm so excited to meet all my new students!**

**Sandor: Yea Margaery and Pod have always had good things to say about her. Ha I'm sure you'll have your hands full with the babies.**

**Sansa: Yes I will :)**

Sandor began to type a reply when he saw the pulsing bubbles on the screen indicating that Sansa was composing another text. He anxiously watched the bubbles, awaiting Sansa’s next text.

**Sansa: Would you mind if I stopped by your place after open house is over? There's something I need to talk to you about.**

_Oh shit._ There it was. The text that basically said, "we need to talk." Having been the recipient of that text too many times than he cared to think about, Sandor knew exactly what it meant, and he suddenly felt an invisible iron fist closing around his neck. The collar of his shirt suddenly felt too constricting, and Sandor tugged the top button open. _I'm jumping to conclusions. Maybe she just wants to talk about...pie. Yep, pie. Or cows. She got so excited at the livestock auction she's thinking about investing in some cattle. That's gotta be it._ Sandor rolled his eyes at his own ridiculous thoughts, which had purely been an attempt to subdue his imagination, which was quickly spiraling out of control. _Who the fuck am I kidding? She doesn't want to talk about pie or cows._

**Sandor: Yea of course. We can meet up and you can ride with me. We can get something to eat on the way too if you want.**

**Sansa: Ok that'd be great.**

**Sandor: So I gotta ask...am I going to be happy or sad after you tell me whatever it is that you need to talk to me about?**

**Sansa: I just want to talk about where you see this...us...going.**

_Shit again. No. Fuck. Definitely fuck. There is no way this could end well for me._ Although he wasn't very learned in the ways of women, Sandor knew enough to know that he would most likely not be very happy at the end of their conversation. He knew that if what they had was good, and worthwhile, Sansa would have already said something or done something to move it more towards being a real relationship. But here she was, wanting to talk about something. Not just something...their relationship...what they were. For a long time, he sat with his phone propped in his hand, staring at the screen, wondering what to reply.

**Sandor: I guess I don’t totally understand, but ok…**

**Sansa: If our conversation goes how I want it to, I think it will be better for us in the future...as a couple.**

**Sansa: If being a couple is something you want eventually.**

_A couple_. Sandor's heart involuntarily fluttered as his eyes scanned over and over the word "couple." _Hmmm. Well that doesn't sound so bad. I guess._ But Sandor was still worried about how cryptic she was being. In addition, he really didn't like how she had used the word _eventually._ After forcing out a breath of air he didn’t realize he had been holding, Sandor’s fingers began to fumble across his phone screen.

**Sandor: Yea of course I would want that. But you're going to have to elaborate for me, Sansa. We've got a long time until we see each other this evening and I've got hours to assume the worst. One thing you should know about me is when it comes to women, I tend to overthink things sometimes, and by the time 7:00 rolls around, I will have invented 1,576 scenarios in my head as to how our talk will go. Good and bad.**

_Damn, why did she have to spring this on me now?! Couldn't she have waited until we saw each other to tell me that we needed to talk?_ Remembering that he was surrounded by other faculty members, Sandor stifled his groan the best he could and slumped further down into his chair. _It's going to be a long afternoon..._

After two long hours, Sansa had lost interest in the meeting she was in all together. It was actually kind of awkward, to say the least. Mr. Baelish was perpetually staring at Sansa as he spoke, and paying her far more attention than anyone else in the room that they were in. At first, she thought maybe he was giving her the extra attention because she was the new teacher and he just wanted to make sure she understood everything. But there was little variation to the curriculum at her new school than what she was used to, and Sansa had proven her knowledge on the curriculum several times over during the course of the morning. Mr. Baelish's lingering stares and unnecessary touches were beginning to unnerve Sansa, and she was thankful when he moved to another part of the room to assist the second grade teacher team. Sansa worried her lip with her top teeth as she tried to decide what to text Sandor back.

**Sansa: All you need to know is that I really like you. A lot. And I think that we could be really good together. Eventually.**

_There. That doesn't sound too bad._ She knew it was time to discuss the direction of their relationship with Sandor. The evening could go one of two ways. Sandor would either be ok with staying friends for a while longer until she felt ready for a relationship, or he wouldn't understand her reasoning and would potentially want to end things all together. Word choice would be critical for their conversation, and Sansa had been stewing nonstop over what she would say to him. Swallowing hard, she took a mental inventory of what she planned on talking to Sandor about later that evening. Fear seized her throat and trickled down her spine as she mentally made her way down the list. Was she really ready to divulge to Sandor her constant abuse from Joffrey? The way she had submitted to him all those months? The countless hours she had spent in therapy after she had finally worked up the courage to rid herself of the burden that she had once called her fiancé? Sansa clenched her eyes shut as she reflected on her hours lying on that squeaky, tufted leather couch. She had been referred by a former coworker to Dr. Fuller. The balding therapist’s office smelled like licorice and the tinted light bulbs that he used in his table top lamps had given Sansa a headache. Good therapists in downtown Atlanta were not cheap, and Sansa had frequently paid Dr. Fuller almost three hundred dollars an hour to be convinced that she was not “damaged goods” and could most definitely open up to the right person after she had allowed herself time to heal. Shutting men out of her life was an act that Sansa had become extremely efficient at. It protected her not only emotionally, but physically as well, and allowed her to avoid thinking too much about or sharing her past with anyone new and different. Sansa desperately wanted to open her heart up to Sandor but was petrified of the potential repercussions. A sudden flash of color on her blackened phone screen jerked her thoughts back to the conversation at hand.

**Sandor: Well I really like you too. In case you haven't noticed... ;)**

**Sansa: That makes me very happy.**

**Sandor: Me too. You make me happy. You're like a little ray of sunshine haha.**

**Sansa: Well I try.**

**Sandor: Still not sure I like that word... "eventually" though. What's that supposed to mean?**

**Sansa: All I'm saying is I don't want to rush into anything.**

Sansa never got a text back. For the remainder of the meeting, she convinced herself that Sandor’s meeting was over, and he had become busy with something else in his classroom. All the teachers faced a big night with open house. All the students were coming to meet their teachers and drop off their supplies. Sansa reminded herself that Sandor still wasn’t completely finished putting his own classroom together and decided that had to be the reason why he had not texted her back. As her own meeting adjourned, Sansa began to gather her things. Mr. Baelish approached her before she could head for the door.

"Ms. Stark," his warm, smooth voice began, "I just wanted to say how pleased I am that you have decided to come join our little family here in Paradise Holler."

Juggling her Coach purse over one shoulder and her laptop and curriculum binders in her arms, Sansa managed a polite smile. "Oh, thank you Mr. Baelish! Yes, I'm very happy to be here too." Annoyed that her purse had slipped off her shoulder into the crook of her arm, Sansa attempted to tuck her binders to her body with one arm so she could regroup her belongings.

Mr. Baelish reached into Sansa's personal space and hoisted the slipping strap of her purse higher on her shoulder. "Please my dear, call me Petyr."

"Oh, sure." Nervously, Sansa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced at her coworkers who were stepping around her to get to the door. Pungent smelling aftershave wafted its way to Sansa’s nose, which twitched involuntarily at the unpleasantness. Petyr stood just inches away, running his hands idly across the short salt and pepper goatee that covered his chin, but left his narrow jaw bare and smooth. Every time Sansa had seen Petyr around the school he had been dressed in an immaculately tailored suit, usually grey or navy blue. Today was no exception. It seemed to Sansa that he looked a bit out of place in the small, rural town. She couldn't place his accent, but she could tell it definitely wasn't southern.

"Have you made many acquaintances here?"

"Oh yes! Everyone’s been so friendly. Margaery and I are getting along great. And Pod is awesome. We all got together the other night."

Petyr raised an eyebrow. "And what about you and Mr. Clegane?"

The tone of his voice was still mostly on the friendly side but was bordering on cynical. Sansa couldn't exactly determine what he was insinuating. At first, it alarmed her that he knew that they had spent time together. But on second thought, she remembered how small of a town it was and how fast news circulated through the locals and long-term residents. "Who tol- I mean, yes. Yes, Sandor's lovely."

A low, throaty chuckle came from Petyr. "I can't say that I have ever heard anyone describe our head football coach as _lovely_." He eyed Sansa suspiciously. "He's not known for being the best company."

At a loss for words, Sansa let her mouth hang open, then snapped it shut again. "Sandor's wonderful."

"Oh, you two are on a first name basis, I see?"

 _What's it to you?!_ Sansa wanted to rage at him. It was certainly none of Mr. Baelish's business who she associated with. Instead, she let the corners of her lips curl up into a weak smile. "Please excuse me, Mr. Baelish. I've got tons of things to do before open house starts." Without waiting for a response, Sansa turned and walked through the open door that led into the hallway.

Back in her room, Shae was organizing a stack of transportation papers for parents to fill out that evening when they brought their children to meet their new teacher. Sansa unloaded the items she held in her arms onto her desk and paused before addressing Shae in an exasperated tone. "What's Mr. Baelish's deal?"

Shae's brow wrinkled as she looked up from the papers in her hands. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he just cornered me after our meeting and asked me about Sandor and I." Earlier in the day, Sansa had filled her new assistant in on her brand new friendship with the head football coach.

Shae narrowed her eyes. "You need to watch out around Mr. Baelish. He might seem all nice and caring, but he's just a snake in the grass. He's probably just jealous. Mr. Baelish has been known to be slightly..." Shae paused to search for the correct word to describe him. "Inappropriate... _fresh_...with some of the female teachers."

Eyes wide, Sansa stared at Shae. "Go on..."

Shae shrugged and lowered herself onto a table. "He hasn't exactly...crossed the line with anyone. Yet. Nothing that could get him fired, I guess. But he just makes little comments here and there that I would consider inappropriate. For instance, my first year working here, he told me I was far too pretty to be stuck in a small town, hidden away in a place where my beauty couldn't be appreciated." She rolled her eyes at the unpleasant memory.

"No way! What did you do?!"

"Before or after I almost broke his finger for stroking my arm?" They both laughed at the comment. Shae smiled and continued. "I told him if he ever spoke to me like that or touched me again, I would go to Varys. He's the one I would go to first with any problems you might have, Sansa. Steer clear of Baelish as much as possible." Shae tilted her chin down and raised her eyebrows in an attempt to make sure her point had been taken. Sansa nodded in response. "He probably won't do anything, but you never know, girl."

Open house started promptly at 5:00. Sansa's first student, parents in tow arrived in the classroom at 5:07. For the next two hours, Sansa greeted her students as they came and left a few at a time. Some were shy and clung to their parent's hands and hid behind their backs, while others were just as outgoing and talkative as Sansa had ever seen. As Sansa chatted with parents and showed her students around their new classroom, Shae diligently organized and put away school supplies as fast as the parents were setting them down on the table. By the time 7:00 rolled around, Sansa had met all fifteen of her students. Her feet were aching, and she was dying to kick her heels off. As she was helping Shae put the last of the supplies away, she got a text from Sandor.

**Sandor: You all done over there?**

**Sansa: Yes, just straightening up a little bit.**

**Sandor: Ok well do you want for me to meet you at your apartment? We can go pick up something quick to eat.**

**Sansa: Sounds good, I'll see you in a few minutes.**

Once Sansa had put everything in its place and said goodbye to Shae, she drove the few minutes to her apartment. She had wanted to run upstairs to freshen up before Sandor arrived to pick her up, but he was already waiting at the curb. After whispering to a quick prayer, she parked her car and stepped towards Sandor's idling truck.

"Hey good-lookin. What would you like for supper?" Sandor asked as Sansa climbed into the passenger side.

After contemplating his question, Sansa replied "How about Pig Pit? I have been wanting to try their barbecue salad."

Without hesitation, Sandor took out his phone and called in their order. As he waited for the call to be picked up, he considered the fact that Sansa had not made a move to kiss him or even hug him after she had climbed into his truck. Once his call was answered, Sandor ordered a large barbecue salad for Sansa and a large order of barbecue nachos with jalapeños for himself. He immediately regretted his choice of adding jalapeños to his nachos, as his stomach had been in knots ever since Sansa had told him that she wanted to talk earlier in the day. As they waited in the Pig Pit parking lot for their supper to be ready, Sandor and Sansa made awkward small talk. They talked about how open house had gone for each other, and Sansa's worries about how her first day at a new school would play out. Sandor did his best to reassure her, but he could do little else but anticipate how the rest of their evening together would unfold.

While they sat and ate in Sandor's breakfast nook, Sandor couldn't help but notice how Sansa's hands trembled as she absentmindedly picked at her salad. "Do you not like the salad?"

Having been brought out of her trance by Sandor’s deep voice, Sansa jerked her head up to meet Sandor's eyes. "What? No, it's good, I like it." It _was_ a good salad; a hearty pile of pulled pork barbecue on top of a bed of fresh lettuce with onions, tomatoes and croutons. But Sansa's mind was whirling around the list of what she wanted to say to Sandor once they had their talk.

"Well then what's on your mind?"

Sansa just shrugged and looked back down at her salad. She hated herself for being such a chicken. She had surmised that the main reason why she was so reluctant to tell Sandor about her horrible last relationship was the fact that she was worried about how Sandow would perceive her. What kind of woman stayed so long with a man who treated her so terribly? _A weak one, that's for sure,_ she thought with disdain.

No longer interested in his nachos, which were nearly gone anyway, Sandor put his fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" He had been avoiding the question as long as possible, but he couldn't put it off any longer.

Sansa rose from the table and put what was left of her salad in the refrigerator. "Are you done with yours?" She asked, gesturing to the almost empty styrofoam box in front of Sandor. After he nodded, Sansa took the box and tossed it into the kitchen garbage can. Moses followed Sansa to the can and huffed a sigh as he watched the remnants of the meal disappear into the stainless steel cannister.

"Thanks." Muttered Sandor, noticing that Sansa was avoiding the topic as much as he had been. "You wanna go sit outside?"

Sansa nodded and followed him and Moses outside onto the porch. They sat in Sandor’s white rocking chairs and admired what was left of the sunset for a few minutes. The fireflies had appeared, twinkling among the bows of the near ancient trees in Sandor's front yard. Finally, Sandor cleared his throat. "Ok doll, you're up. What do you wanna talk about?"

Knowing that she couldn't circumvent the talk any longer, Sansa sighed. "Well..." she began, stealing a glance at the man who was watching her intently. "I wanted to talk about _us_."

"Yeah, you said that already earlier. What about us?"

Forcing a breath out of her mouth, Sansa closed her eyes and rubbed her hands across the tops of her thighs. "Gosh, I really don't know where to start."

All the carefully planned words that Sansa had rehearsed throughout the entire afternoon vanished completely. Gone was the list of reasons why she thought it would be better to solidify their friendship before completely turning their relationship romantic. Everything left her mind as she stared blankly at Sandor. _Damn, why didn't I write this shit down?!_ It's true what they say about having a serious conversation with someone. All the good things that you should have said during that time would come to you later on. And Sansa miserably thought that was bound to happen.

"Will you say something?" Sandor probed gently. "Please?"

"It's just that..." With apprehension in her voice, Sansa paused searching for the right words, desperate for her mind to work. No luck. Quickly realizing where this conversation was headed, Sandor heaved a sigh and leaned his elbows on his knees with his forehead on the palms of his hands.

"It's just...I...I'm-"

Raising his head, Sandor gruffly cut her off and finished her declaration for her. "Not looking for anything serious."

Wide-eyed and open mouthed, Sansa gaped at Sandor, unable to hide her shock. In the few days she had known him, she had never heard him speak in anything but a happy, laid-back tone. Ray had told her just a few days earlier that Sandor had been an angry man at one point in his life. She hadn’t really believed he was capable of such a cynical tone until just then. The animosity in his voice was borderline venomous. With an agitated groan, he pushed his body back in the rocking chair and covered his face with his hands and let them slide down. Pain was something Sandor was no stranger to. The excruciating pain he had felt when Gregor had mercilessly held his face to the coals while his flesh melted was something he would never forget. Nor would he sooner forget the sickening pain that shot through his entire body when his leg snapped, ending his football career. But those pains paled in comparison to the pain he now felt in his heart. The pain of listening to the woman he was falling in love with telling him she didn't want to be with him after all.

Sansa watched as Sandor rose from the chair and walked the length of the porch. Sensing his master's discomfort, Moses pushed himself up and followed him, should he need any canine support. After what seemed like a long time of watching Sandor pace aimlessly with Moses close on his heels, Sansa heard him speak. "So, none of this that we have, none of what we have done has been what you wanted?"

Sansa felt her mind freeze again. She was usually fairly adept with her words, even in stressful situations in which her explanations on the topic had left her. But Sandor seemed aggravated at her, and it was throwing her off considerably. "You know I love hanging out with you. As well as everything that we have done. And I want it! I just don't know if the timing is right. I just...a relationship is not what I'm looking for right now. I've got to work on myself." Emotional well-being for herself was something Sansa had rarely set as a priority in her life. If she was to be true to herself, she knew this was something that had to be done, no matter how much it hurt.

"So where does that leave me? What am I to you? You clearly don't want me as a boyfriend. So what am I...a friend?" _Damn this was hard._ Sandor swallowed back the lump that was rising in his throat. "Are we just friends that just occasionally kiss?"

Slowly, Sansa crossed the porch to stand a few feet away from Sandor. "I still want you to be my friend. I think people should _be_ friends before they date."

With his hips and hands braced back on the porch rail, Sandor shook his head as he let it hang down. "I don't know if I can just be your _friend_ , Sansa." A few awkward minutes passed between them before he found his voice again. "I want to be with you too much to only be friends. And you know that. Surely you’ve got to know that by now."

"Sandor, I want to be with you too!" Sansa rapidly closed the distance between them and reached for his arm, only to have it snatched out of her grasp.

Becoming increasingly angry, Sandor brushed by Sansa to pace the length of the porch again. With a huff, he turned to her. "Then be with me!" Sandor practically shouted. _If she wants to be with me then what the hell is she so damn scared of?! We can still salvage this...I just gotta figure out what to say._ But inside, he knew it was too late. The damage had already been done. "You're just scared..."

"I am not scared!" Sansa exclaimed the lie with a stomp of her foot that made Moses jump. "I just...I'm not sure if a relationship is what I need in my life right now. I'm not ready for that. It's not the right time." she repeated.

"Dammit, Sansa! If you're always waiting for _the right time_ for something to happen...then it's never going to happen!"

 _Oh that’s so typical for a man to say,_ Sansa seethed to herself angrily. Now sharing his anger, Sansa determinedly squared her shoulders and stuck a finger out at Sandor. "Don't shout at me. And don't come at me with all your weird man-logic!" She finished with a wave of her hands.

 _What the fuck...man-logic?!_ Sandor could not make heads or tails of what Sansa was saying and he was dangerously close to losing his temper. "Sansa..." he began after a steadying breath, "You can't just do this to someone. You can't just make me feel all the things I feel for you, and let it grow unchecked, only to say that you're not sure. It's not fair." _But when has my life ever been fucking fair?_ To calm himself, Sandor closed his eyes and counted to five. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and steady. "When you came along, you...you made me feel things again...things that I wasn't sure that I was even capable of feeling anymore."

By then, Sansa was crying. Silent tears slid down her cheeks and she hugged her arms around her chest. _I've ruined everything again. Once again, I have single handedly destroyed my love life. I have hurt Sandor and wrecked any chance I ever had with him_. Deep down, Sansa knew Sandor was right. She was just scared. Terrified, actually. But there was no turning back now. "I should go..." She finally whispered. Without another word, Sansa hastily made her way down the porch steps.

"Where are you going?" Snapped Sandor as he jogged down the steps and followed her out into the front yard.

"Home." Sansa retorted, tears still streaming down her face as she passed Sandor's truck.

Realizing that she meant to walk back to town, Sandor rolled his eyes and continued after her. Quick strides caught Sandor up with Sansa and he grabbed her by the elbow. "Get in the truck."

After jerking her arm out of his grasp, she rounded on her heels to face him. "No!" she cried.

Sandor reached for the passenger side door and jerked it open. "Just get in the damn truck!"

Defiantly, Sansa crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground. In no mood to play games, Sandor leaned over and began to hoist her over his shoulder when he heard her screech. "Ok! Gah, put me down, I'll get in the truck." Sandor relented his hold on Sansa and watched her climb into the passenger seat. Once her hands and feet were out of the way, Sandor slammed the door harder than necessary.

"Stay." He told Moses sharply as he walked around the front of his truck. The dog whined as he slid his body down onto the porch and rested his chin on his front paws.

The drive back into town was awkward. To avoid any further conversation for the time being, Sandor rolled the windows down. He was very afraid of saying something he didn't mean out of anger, so he thought it would be best just to not say anything at all. When he put his truck in park in front of Sansa's apartment, she made no move to get out. After what seemed like an eternity, she turned towards him.

"Sandor...I just, I need some time to think and process everything."

 _Fuck thinking!_ Sandor seethed in his mind. His temper was rearing its ugly head again, and he wanted to shout, yell, or throw something. But instead, he pulled in deep, shaky breaths as he sat and listened to Sansa rant and cry. He wanted to reach out to her and hold her. To kiss all the pain and confusion away and show her what she needed in her life at that point in time. To _be_ what she needed at that point in time. Deep down, Sandor knew there was something else she was not telling him. There was no use in asking about it, though. He couldn't force the information out of her, no more than he could force his students to give a shit about their grades.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I was going to come here to get away from everything bad that had been going on in my life." _Tell him, you idiot! Tell him about Joffrey! You've got to tell him so he will understand!_ But the words froze on Sansa's tongue and she couldn't string them together. Instead, she fumbled over words that weren’t entirely untrue. "I…I just wanted to start over fresh. How was I supposed to know I was going to meet someone like you when I moved here? I wasn't emotionally ready for that, and now...here we are." For emphasis, Sansa flailed her hand at the space between them and let it fall back into her lap.

Darkness had replaced all patience and reasoning that Sandor had. "Well you should have fucking told me that right from the start."

Annoyed by the unnecessary cussing, Sansa scoffed louder than she probably should have and rolled her eyes, which earned her an irritated glare from Sandor. "Oh ok, my bad...so is this how it should have gone that afternoon in the grocery store? Hey, I'm Sansa. Nice to meet you, but sorry I'm not ready for a relationship because I'm _damaged goods_. Should I have just jumped right in and said that?!" There was no mistaking the sarcasm in her voice. Beyond put out with her complete and utter failure at trying to convey her feelings to Sandor, Sansa leaned her elbow on the door of the truck and propped her forehead in the palm of her hand.

"You know exactly what I meant."

Still fuming, Sansa slowly took a few breaths of her own and counted to ten. "Just give me some time to think." In an instant, Sansa swung the door open, stepped out onto the sidewalk and slammed the door shut. Sandor quickly scrambled out of his truck after her.

"This isn't something you should have to think about, Sansa!"

Sansa stopped in her tracks and whirled around to face him. "What isn't?!"

Sandor's arms flailed in the air as he spoke. "Relationships. Love. You shouldn't have to think about it!"

As the word _love_ left Sandor's mouth, their eyes locked together. Sansa's eyes widened as what he said clicked in her brain. The word hung in the air and tugged at her heartstrings. With tears still streaming down her face, Sansa turned and made a mad dash for her stairs.

From the sidewalk, Sandor shouted up to her. "What the hell are you so afraid of?!"

His question went unanswered. Sansa slammed the apartment door and left Sandor outside on the sidewalk in a turmoil of emotions. Angrily, he yanked his truck door open, climbed inside and sped back to his house. A pouting Moses was waiting for him right where Sandor had left him. He jumped up and greeted his master with enthusiasm that wasn't returned. In a huff, Sandor went upstairs to retrieve his pack of cigarettes, stashed away for rough nights like these. He had quit smoking during his years of college and professional football, only to pick up the habit again after his injury. Once he had been hired as a coach and teacher, Sandor had slacked off considerably, not wanting to set a bad example for the teenagers in his care. But he still kept emergency packs hidden in his closet. Back outside on the porch, Sandor lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. His nerves were ragged. Smoking helped calm him, but this time it was only marginally. As he leaned on the porch railing and blew smoke out into the night air, he stewed on his conversation with Sansa. He knew the whole thing had been too good to be true. What kind of woman who was used to being wined and dined by rich, classy gentlemen would want to settle for a dirty, rough around the edges farm boy? He refused to entertain the thought any further. Even though Sansa was from a different world, she didn't seem like the type of woman who would be that shallow. Part of him insisted that he still had hope to cling to. Sandor knew he had become a tolerant man over the years, but waiting for Sansa to "think," or whatever the hell it was that she needed to do was going to test his patience to the fullest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...umm...don't crucify me. Most of the way that I write mirrors the way I handle my own situations...and this situation is very similar to how I reacted when I met my fiancé. I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship, and was scared shitless to fall in love again, and almost lost my current love because of it.
> 
> BY THE WAY...I have a new story up called "Rodeo Road." Please give it a read and let me know what you think!


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